16 November,2021 07:24 AM IST | Mumbai | Shirish Vaktania
June Monteiro (centre) with Maxie Roderiques (left) and Joe D’Souza who rescued her from a couple that was trying to cheat her
Byline: Shirish Vaktania, Diwakar Sharma and Anurag Kamble
Elderly citizens living alone in huge properties at some of Mumbai's prime locations often become targets of the land mafia. The attempts range from showing compassion to coercion to usurp their assets. For a lucky few, vigilant neighbours come to the rescue, while others get stuck in legal wrangles. In the second part of âThe old and the vulnerable' series, mid-day throws light on a few such cases.
Land sharks find it easy to win over old and ailing people whose children have settled abroad and do not find time to check on them. mid-day also came across instances where politicians and police were alleged to have worked hand in glove with the land mafia. In some cases, land-grabbers also killed seniors for their properties.
In 2003, Mumbai was left numb by the murder of a Parsee woman. The killer turned out to be her adopted daughter.
Adi Ardeshir Cursetjee met Geeta Soni in 1997. Geeta, being an animal activist, was liked by Cursetjee and his wife. Geeta became close and began living with them at their Worli flat after a couple of years.
The couple considered Geeta their daughter and even altered their will to make her the sole beneficiary of their assets. In 2003, Geeta fell in love with a driver called Irshad Mullah and married him, much against the wishes of her adoptive father. An upset Cursetjee wanted to reword the will and let Geeta know of his wish.
On May 20, Geeta, her husband and her biological mother, took Cursetjee to her own home at Kakad Estate, Worli and killed him. The accused then got a fake death certificate and kept the body at the Tower of Silence.
A family friend of Cursetjee got suspicious and called the police. In custody, Geeta said she wanted to usurp Cursetjee's flat worth Rs 3 crore and his bank balance of a few more crores. In November 2003, Geeta jumped to her death from the 3rd floor of the sessions court building after she was sentenced to life. Her husband too tried to end his life. He was saved by the police.
Rs 3crore
Value of Cursetjee's Worli flat in 2003
Yusuf Amir Baig was also arrested in 2010 for allegedly selling the flat of one Radhaben Samani, who lived in Simla House Apartment on Nepean Sea Road, after her death.
Mohammad Nasir, secretary of the society, said, "Around 25 years ago, Radhaben's health was failing. Her daughter Madhvi, an air hostess with British Airlines, took her to her home in London. After her mother's death, Madhvi came to Mumbai and realised that her mother's flat had been sold to someone else." On a complaint by Madhvi, the police found that Baig had stolen the property papers from Radhaben's home. The Bombay High Court later ordered to hand over the property to Madhvi.
Giving relief to an 82-year-old woman from "extreme harassment", the Bombay High Court recently told her daughter and son-in-law to vacate her south Mumbai flat within 10 days along with their daughter. The octogenarian had told the HC that she didn't want to see her daughter till she was alive.
The woman has two sons, one in the US and another at Andheri, and a daughter. She let her daughter and son-in-law live in her 1,057-sq ft flat on the 16th floor of Rewa Apartment, Bhulabhai Desai Road, Mahalaxmi, as they faced financial difficulties. Her ordeal began after her husband died in 2014. In November of that year, her daughter got a gift deed made in her favour to claim 42 per cent of the 50 per cent of undivided share of the mother in the flat.
Claiming torture, the mother moved the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Tribunal in January 2021. She said she was denied medicines and food, her phone was thrown into the toilet and she was beaten in the stomach. In February, the Tribunal asked the daughter to vacate and flat, and the decision was upheld by the HC.
A 98-year-old woman, whose ailing husband passed away a few years ago, was targeted three years ago. Fortunately, she was protected after the secretary of the Pali Hill Residents Association smelt a rat. Madhu Poplai, secretary of the association, said she has been taking care of the elderly woman, June Monteiro, and hera husband, when he was alive, for decades.
"Her daughter Ruby Goans moved to Australia when she was 16-year-old, now she must be in her 70s. After uncle [Joe] passed away in 2018, she [June] became completely devastated," said Poplai.
Poplai said she had to sell off Monteiro's property only to meet her expenses that go up to R2 lakh a month.
"Monteiro's property was sold for R5.4 crore and we shifted her to my own society on rent so that she can remain at visible distance. Meantime, I got occupied with some family issues," she said.
"Taking advantage of my busy schedule, a couple got closer to June and in a few days, two of their female accomplices started to live with her in the rented flat," she said. The two women apparently would sneak in around 10.30 pm and leave the premises at 6 am. "I had the duplicate keys to June's flat. One day, I entered the flat around 4 am and saw two women sleeping there. I kicked them out and told them that they would face legal action if they returned," said Poplai.
She added, "The couple had met June at a hospital where she had gone for a test. After winning her trust by offering her cake, pastry and biryani, the couple planted two woman accomplices."
Monteiro is currently being looked after by the residents of Cozihome at Pali Hill. "Society manager Maxie Roderiques and Joe D'Souza are taking good care of her. There is a maid who had been assisting June," said Poplai, adding a background check revealed that the couple's family members are involved in grabbing of properties of old people.
Feroz Karani, 65, lived in a 2,000-sq ft apartment on the fourth floor of Marine Chambers at Dhobi Talao. He was allegedly threatened by one Yusuf Amir Baig, an aide of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his sister Haseena Parker.
Neighbours told mid-day that Karani died about four years ago and had sold the property out of fear. Karani, who had worked in many Hindi films, had been living in the flat since 1940. It was worth about Rs 4 crore in 2010.
His neighbour at Marine Chambers told mid-day, "Feroz Karani was an old member of our society. Yusuf Amir Baig used to run a juice stall. He first befriended Karani by offering him juice and then began threatening him. Baig would use his photos with Haseena Parker to pressure Karani."
The neighbour continued, "Karani would always share his problems with us. Baig harassed him after learning that he was alone in India. While Karani filed a police complaint and moved court, he sold the flat due to the fear of Baig and Haseena Parker. Few years ago, we learnt that Karani had died."
2,000sqft
Area of Feroz Karani's flat
A 6,000sq ft property worth Rs 50 crore of an undertrial was usurped by Kalin-based land mafias allegedly with the support of cops. Following a report in mid-day, the Vakola police arrested Abid Ali Mushtaque Tanaji, 46, for allegedly trespassing on the bungalow of 66-year-old Roque D'Souza.
D'Souza was arrested for allegedly killing his wife, Celine D'Souza, in July 2017. The police told the court that Tanaji grabbed Roque's bungalow with forged documents, in connivance with the complainant's brother Joseph and one Prem Chandran. mid-day's report prompted one Albina Fernandes, 62, to allege that the same accused had also grabbed their house on a 1,400-sq ft plot, worth about Rs 3 crore, at Sundar Nagar in 2006. She said she was in Dubai then. She then moved back to India to fight for her land, but was forced to rent a flat in Vasai as the accused had occupied her plot. Advocate Prashant Pandey is fighting her case for free. "The HC had directed the lower court to dispose of the matter in four weeks, but it got delayed due to COVID."
Rs 50crore
Value of Roque D'Souza's Kalina property
