'Now that Raj Kandhari is dead, who will pay our money back?'

"Kandhari's death has left us in a loss, who will pay our money back?" asks Prakash Mhatre, a construction materials supplier who claims he was cheated of Rs 75 lakh by Raj Kandhari - the Navi Mumbai developer who committed suicide on May 9.

Raj Kandhari (left) shot himself at his home on May 9. He died in the hospital a day later. (Right) Prakash Mhatre

This is the latest in a series of accusations that have come up against the builder after his death. mid-day reported yesterday on how Kandhari has not 1 but 15 cases registered against him. The cases include an assault case, as well as lawsuits from buyers.

Kandhari allegedly cheated Mhatre (48), who owns Prakash Construction, on a contract he signed with Kandhari's Swaraj Builders. Mhatre and proprietor Rajesh Naik had signed the contract with for supplying construction material for the Swaraj Kingstone project in Ulwe.

"Since then, we supplied materials to him and at the end when the building was ready, he refused to give us the pending Rs 75 lakh. After we pressurised him, he said he will give us a flat, but later refused to give that too," said Mhatre, stating that he was a cheater.

In April 2015, Mhatre wrote a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as the police were not ready to register a case against Kandhari. "From 2014 till date, no case has been registered against him. The Nhava Sheva police and the senior police officers and politicians were hand in glove with him. We approached all of them, but nothing changed," added Mhatre. He claims that after the losses he suffered, he cannot take on big projects anymore. Mhatre says, "Even when he was alive, he used to threaten us against complaining to higher authorities. He would say he is in touch with the big bosses. Owing to that, all our efforts failed."