Mumbai: Developer booked for cheating investors

Investors in the Taloja project meeting Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe on Tuesday

The Chembur police and Taloja police (in Navi Mumbai) have registered two separate cases of cheating against directors of Supreme Construction & Developers Pvt Ltd for duping investors to the tune of R45 crore. The police said the developer collected cash from investors and promised to give them possession of their respective flats by 2018, but failed to do so to date. More than 160 investors have been cheated, as per the two cases registered.

Surprisingly, one of the accused includes Lalit Tekchandani - the complainant in the FIR registered against Ranveer Singh for his nude photoshoot. The other directors named in the cases include Kajol Lalit Tekchandani, Arun Makhija, Mija Mohammed Noorul Hasan Ibrahim and Manulla Kachwala, among other developers and partners of Supreme Construction.

In the FIR registered at the Chembur police station, the complainant Hira Meghraj Jagwani, 64 - a resident of Chembur - alleged that in 2012, he was told about the Taloja project by his acquaintance Arun Makhija. He visited the site and decided to invest by paying Rs 41 lakh. Similarly, Jeevat Mool Chand Mangalani, 60, paid R32 lakh. "We were assured that we will get possession of the flat in 2018. But to date, the building is not ready and we are getting no response from the developer," Jagwani said, asserting that he and Manglani were collectively cheated of R73 lakh. "So we both decided to register an FIR with the Chembur police."

The FIR at Taloja police station was registered based on a complaint by Ganesh Bist, a resident of Kharghar who claims he was cheated of Rs 31 lakh. "I paid the amount for the flat, but haven't got possession. We found out that around 1,712 investors had booked flats in the developers' projects and paid advances. But I managed to get hold of 160 investors who paid Rs 44.25 crore in total and we filed a complaint at Taloja police station. The developer claims that the landlord had filed a case against them, so the construction stopped. As a result, we haven't got possession of our flats. We failed to get a credible response from the developer and so decided to file a police complaint as we were cheated," said Bist. The project in Taloja has more than 1,800 flats including 1 BHK, 2 BHK, studio apartments and 3 BHK studio flats.

Taking up the issue, a group headed by activist Anjali Damania met the police commissioner of Navi Mumbai to discuss and seek further investigation into the matter. Hemraj Rajput, DCP (Zone 6), confirmed that an FIR had been registered at Chembur police station and investigations were underway. Meanwhile, sources from the police said Lalit Tekchandani had been unreachable after a case was registered against him. Teams had been formed to trace him, investigate the matter further, and arrest all the accused.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Mohit Kamboj tweeted ‘Next target: Lalit Tekchandani' and said anyone who has been cheated can approach him. The case at Chembur was registered under Sections 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats (Regulation of the promotion of construction, sale, management and transfer) Act, 1963. At Taloja police station, the case has been registered under IPC Sections 406 and 420, and relevant sections of the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act, 1963.

160
No of investors who have complained