Mumbai: Khar family suspects land grabber behind mother’s death

Yvonne Fernandez’s body was found in a bed sheet last year

The alleged grabbing of the multi-crore prime property in Khar has stoked a fresh controversy. The daughter of 83-year-old Yvonne Fernandez, whose skeletal remains were found wrapped in a bed sheet under the cot at her Chuim Village bungalow in November last year, wants the Accidental Death Report (ADR) thoroughly investigated. She suspects the involvement of Clarence Pereira alias Peter, who grabbed their house, in Yvonne's death.

As part of the ‘The old and the vulnerable' series, mid-day on Monday highlighted that Yvonne's elder daughter Marietta Fernandes and her family have been facing threats from Peter, who has grabbed their ancestral property.

The accused Clarence Pereira alias Peter with his wife Nancy. File pic

"We are wondering if our mother's death was natural or was someone was involved, considering that people [Peter] had eyes on the property, and had even called my brother Andrew, pressuring him to put my mother in an old age home," M D'Pehna, the younger daughter of Yvonne who lives abroad, told mid-day. "I want the ADR, which the Khar police had registered after my mother's death, to be thoroughly investigated. Also, the cause of my mother's death was kept reserved," she added.

‘Threatened by Peter'

In the previous report, Andrew had said that he was threatened by an unknown woman caller from India. "The caller, who later identified herself as Nancy, had threatened my brother to shift my mother to an old age home, else his life will become very difficult. So, I request Mumbai police to please investigate my mother's death, to find out if it was natural or she became the victim of some conspiracy hatched to usurp our multi-crore ancestral property," said M D'Penha.

Marietta, who was mentally ill then, was found with Yvonne's skeletal remains in the bungalow in November last year. She told mid-day that she had wrapped her body in a bed sheet on March 26, 2020, after she stopped responding to her. Senior inspector at Khar police station Gajanan Kabdule said, "The opinion as to cause of her (Yvonne's) death is kept reserved and the detailed post mortem report is awaited." Yvonne's autopsy was conducted on November 22 and the samples were preserved for necessary examination. On the death certificate, issued by R N Cooper hospital, the date of Yvonne's demise was mentioned as November 20, 2020.

Peter gets notice

Meanwhile, on Friday, Mumbai police launched a search for 61-year-old businessman Peter. Sources told mid-day that two officers from Khar police station visited the property on Friday to hand over the notice to Peter, but the ‘house was locked'.

The bungalow at Chuim Village in Khar, on Friday. Pic/Ashish Rane

"We have pasted the copies of notice at the entrance and the rear gate of the bungalow because it was locked. The officers who visited the spot have also taken the signatures of two neighbours as witnesses," said a source. The source added that Peter and his family locked the property and disappeared "after they learnt that Marietta's statement has been recorded at Khar police station."

The one-page notice, which has been addressed to Clarence Pereira [Peter] and is undersigned by the investigating officer sub-inspector Tanaji Kolthe on November 19, reads: "You have taken over the property of Marietta Fernandez into your custody. You are requested to appear before Khar police station within two days of this notice along with all the documents related to the property to complete our investigation. Please inform the undersigned officer before you visit."

Kabdule confirmed that Peter and his family were not at home. But he has told the police that "he will appear before Khar police on Monday with his advocate and documents of the bungalow. All the documents provided by him will be put through scrutiny and if anything is found wrong, we will take strict necessary legal action against him," he said.

"Marietta does not have any document to prove her claims," Kabdule added. The role of Thane Mental Hospital (TMH), where she was admitted before, is also under the scanner, said Kabdule. TMH's medical superintendent Dr Sanjay Bodade had earlier told mid-day that they had discharged Marietta to her uncle, Peter, "whose credentials were verified by the local [Khar] police".

However, Kabdule said, Khar police had not verified the "credentials to endorse Peter as her uncle." "We are investigating how Marietta was discharged. Also, we are checking whether TMH informed the court after discharging Marietta."

‘Cops not cooperating with us'

M D'Penha has alleged that police were not cooperating with them when they contacted them via WhatsApp. "I called the senior inspector at Khar police station to ask who handed over the Chuim bungalow keys and on what date/time, but he disconnected the call, after asking why I didn't visit Mumbai when my mother's body was recovered last year."

"Kabdule is not responding to my calls and messages…though he is reading my messages on WhatsApp. I expect Mumbai police to cooperate with the Mumbaikars' relatives who are settled abroad. We are in crisis and need help, but the Mumbai police officers are not responding to our calls or messages. It is not possible for us to visit India immediately," she said.

"The pandemic was at its peak when my mother's body was recovered. And I had also conveyed the same to Kabdule and Kolthe last year," she added. M D'Penha is now considering hiring a law firm to give Power of Attorney (PoA) to look into daily updates in the matter related to the grabbing of their bungalow as well as Yvonne's ADR.