Navi Mumbai: Real estate developers talk of living in the shadow of fear

Three years after tragedy first struck outside the building of S K Brothers Builders & Developers at Sector 28 in Vashi, a nervous energy still prevails within its walls. When we enter the reception area, an armed cop relaxing on a sofa, is suddenly alarmed. He sizes us up, but is assured by the receptionist. We are then led into the spacious chamber of 28-year-old Sandeep Kumar Lahoria aka Sunny. "No cameras, please," he insists. "I am wary of getting photographed," he says. But, the fear Sandeep reveals is in glaring contradiction to the battle he has been fighting since February 2013, when his developer father, Sunil Kumar Lahoria (51), was killed by a spray of bullets.

In November 2014, the Thane Crime Branch filed a chargesheet, claiming that gangster Abu Salem's right-hand man Mehendi Hassan had reportedly taken a contract to kill Sandeep Kumar Lahoria. Sandeep's father, Sunil, had been gunned down outside his Vashi office in February 2013. Pics/Sneha Kharabe

Over an hour's drive away from here, in Ulhasnagar, Thane district, contractor Sumit Sunil Chakraborthy's 23-year-old son Aakash is still reeling from the aftershocks of the June 11 firing at his father's office. He narrowly missed being the target of notorious goon Suresh Pujari's shooters by five minutes. While nobody was injured, Sumit is yet to come to terms with Pujari's sudden decision to act on the threat calls, which he has been receiving for the last three years. "He is a local goonda," Sumit says, "There was never any reason to take him seriously." That the empty threats translated into something more sinister, called for a reality check. A couple of days after the incident, he got his son to register for an arms licence and got police security for his office.

On July 11, two motorcycle-borne shooters, allegedly associated with underworld gangster Suresh Pujari, opened fire at (right) builder Sumit Chakraborthy's office in Ulhasnagar. Chakraborthy's son Aakash (left), who had been receiving extortion calls seeking R2 crore, had left the premises just five minutes before

In the realty business, a booming industry outside of Mumbai, somebody is a new target every day. We sat down for a chat with the ones who have reasons to be afraid of their own shadows.

Lahoria's office at Sector 28 in Vashi

Q. What kind of struggles do you face in your business?
Sandeep: As a developer, my father (the late Sunil Lahoria) and I have been constantly harassed and bullied by government and police officials. Because we deal with buying and selling of land, we are often targeted by a section of builders who involve villagers or locals, who occupy land purchased by us, and demand that we give an NOC at a certain price. If we don't, they threaten us with an FIR. The cops go ahead and file the FIR because the builders offer them a cut too. It's a tight nexus here and there's no room for honesty.

Sumit: Ulhasnagar's biggest and only problem is Suresh Pujari. As a contractor, I have never faced any harassment from either government officials or the cops. To be honest, even if I have rivals, we would never stoop to the lengths of involving the underworld or goons. For the last three to four years, Pujari has been making extortion calls to many businessmen in the area, without even bothering to check if they have the capacity to pay up. But, we never believed him, until he shot dead a local cablewala in October last year.

Chakraborthy's office in Ulhasnagar. Last year, one of Pujari's shooters killed cable operator Sachanand Karia when he refused to pay extortion money of Rs 5 crore

Q. When did the extortion calls first begin?
Sandeep: My father got the first call five years ago. This has to do with his need to do business honestly. He never indulged in any malpractice, and did not believe in taking or giving bribes. In 2011, he filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court after the police refused to file an FIR against builder Anurag Garg, who had violated FSI rules, while constructing towers on Palm Beach Road. When the HC directed the police to file an FIR against Garg, top police officials advised him against it. My father refused, and before he knew it, he had started receiving calls from Garg's accomplice Suresh Bijlani, who has strong connections with the underworld. Again, my father did not give in to threats. It cost him his life.

Sumit: The call came some three years ago. At the time, I did not even know Pujari. He simply asked me to pay up R2 crore. I did not have that kind of money, so I laughed it off. But, after that day, for the next eight days, he kept harassing me with 20 to 30 calls every day. I then went and filed a complaint with the Thane police. While I was assured that action would be taken, nothing changed. The calls kept coming and with time they had become sporadic. However, after the murder of Sachu cablewala, he also started harassing my son Aakash with phone calls.

Q. How cooperative were the authorities?
Sandeep: My father wouldn't have died had the police officials been half as cooperative. In fact, they were hand-in-glove with the builders and one of the senior-most officers was also aware of the plans to kill him. On the day of the murder, former Navi Mumbai CP Ashok Kumar was in constant touch with Bijlani and Garg. Still, nothing was done about it. I cannot stand the Navi Mumbai police. They are all dogs. This is why I sought for the inquiry to be handed over to the Mumbai crime branch.

Sumit: I have visited the CP, joint CP and DCP of Thane on several occasions. What I have been given is only assurance, and nothing else. When Pujari started harassing my son, I applied for police protection for him. In return they slap a Rs 80,000 bill every month for their services, when they shouldn't be charging anything and instead, should try and focus their energies on tracking the goon. Are they waiting for him to become a big ganglord before they cut him to size?

Q. How is it that people in the real estate are mostly targets of the underworld? Isn't it because of the kind of money, especially black money, that's pumped into the industry?
Sandeep: Let me lay it to you straight…it is only honest people, who are usually targeted by the underworld. If my father had agreed to pay the money that had been demanded, he would have been sitting in this office today. My father had sensed something fishy in the trade here, and hence, started new businesses in Dubai and Australia by 2002. In fact, I was handling all our business abroad, but after my father's death I decided that I would not move from here, until I get the guilty behind bars. The good thing is that Garg and Bijlani are now in jail, but I have had to spend crores of rupees to ensure that they remain there.

Sumit: No, it is not true. Pujari has threatened more than 50 people in Ulhasnagar, and they include politicians, small-time shopkeepers, and businessmen like me. Nobody has been spared of his idiocy.

Q. What's it like to live under constant fear?
Sandeep: I carry a licensed gun with me everywhere I go. I have been given police security, but ask the official how to handle the gun, and he will have no clue. Because of this, I have become my own watchdog. Every now and then, I get a threat call, saying that if I don't stop pursuing the case, I will meet my father's fate. I am not married, and have no family. If I had one, I would never keep them here. My mother doesn't know what kind of problems I face, and I don't discuss it with her because she would ask me to put an end to this. But, I am not a quitter. The one thing I learned from my father is to be brave.

Sumit: I don't fear Pujari and that's one reason, I haven't got any personal security for myself. Yes, I have put in additional safety measures in place, like having CCTV cameras at home and work, but that is for my family. If I cow down to his demands and agree to pay up a few lakh rupees, it will only encourage him to threaten other people. I don't want to set a wrong trend or bad example. Most importantly, I don't want to give unnecessary mileage to the goon.