Land shark Clarence Pereira nabbed from Goa

Clarence Pereira with his wife Nancy; (right) The building where Pereira rented flat from Bharat Patel. File pic

The Andheri police have arrested absconding land shark Clarence Pereira from Goa for trying to take over a 2 BHK apartment of a senior citizen in Andheri. Pereira was earlier arrested by Khar police after mid-day exposed him for trying to grab the bungalow of an elderly woman in Chuim village in Khar West.

Pereira has multiple cases against him in several police stations for cheating and land grabbing. His modus operandi is to rent a flat and later forge documents to acquire the properties. His latest arrest came over a complaint filed by Bharat Patel, a resident of Sahar Road in Andheri East. Pereira had rented Patel's flat in February 2023 and forged documents to seize the property.

According to a police officer, Pereira rented Patel's 2 BHK flat for a year, paid rent for four months and then stopped. He also expressed interest in purchasing the flat for Rs 1.46 crore but never paid Patel.

Speaking with mid-day, Patel said, "When we visited the house to collect rent from Pereira, he got aggressive and said he wouldn't pay rent or vacate the flat. Later, he forged documents claiming he had purchased the flat from me and even fabricated fake notary stamps. In December, I approached the Andheri police and filed an FIR against Pereira."

According to Patel, Pereira's entire family is involved in the crime. "When we asked the family to vacate the flat, his daughter threatened me and my son, saying she'd file a fake rape case against us if we returned. We were scared, so we stopped visiting the house we rented them," he explained.

"The house is still under the control of Pereira's family. The police have not taken any action yet and Pereira has been arrested six months after I filed the complaint. We want our home back, but the police say we'll have to get it through the court," Patel said.

Police Sub-Inspector Ankush Rathod of Andheri police station said, "We have arrested Pereira from Goa, and he is in police custody. He had been on the run since the FIR was filed. We will return the flat to Patel through a court order soon. We are also investigating whether Pereira's family members are involved in this racket."

In November 2021, mid-day exposed Pereira after he seized a Khar-based bungalow worth Rs 25 crore, evicting the owner. A 54-year-old woman, Marietta Fernandes, had been living in the bungalow in Chuim village in Khar West with her deceased mother for 10 months due to depression. The Khar police received a complaint from a neighbour, removed the body, and sent Marietta to a mental hospital in Thane for treatment.

However, Pereira released Marietta from the mental hospital, posing as her uncle, and took her to Khar police station, claiming ownership of the bungalow. After obtaining the bungalow key, Pereira threw Marietta out of the house and left her on the road near the airport. A local resident helped Marietta and informed her brother in Dubai and mid-day about the incident.