Woman says owners of popular dairy brand trying to usurp her property

Preeti Mansukhani, the complainant. Pics/Atul Kamble

The owners of a popular dairy brand have been booked by the Khar police for allegedly conspiring to grab the property of their neighbour, who is the daughter of yesteryear actress Kalpana Mohan. Complainant Preeti Mansukhani and the accused, who own Punjab Sind Foods India (Private) Limited and Punjab Sind Premium Dairy, live on different floors of Preeti Apartment, a five-storey structure on 18th Khar Road.

Mansukhani, a housemaker, said she has been under constant threat from accused Swaranjit Singh Bajaj, Jaswinder Singh Bajaj, Saheb Bajaj and their driver Kiran and she is worried for the safety of her children and husband. "I am not aware an FIR is registered against me," said Jaswinder Bajaj, who later added, "It's a society-related issue." But he failed to name the housing society.

As per the FIR, registered on June 8, the Mansukhani family often travels abroad and has installed 12 cameras to remotely keep an eye on their property. It says the Bajaj family broke seven cameras on June 2 which itself was captured by a CCTV camera. Terrified, they have temporarily moved to Colaba.

‘Attempt during lockdown'

Mansukhani said the Bajajs made an attempt during the lockdown when they got stuck in Canada. "We learnt that the accused had encroached the terrace, whose I am the legal custodian, by making a full-fledged gym. We wrote many letters to the Bajaj family but they did not pay heed. We also wrote to the police and the BMC," she said.

Mansukhani said the Bajaj family has turned the electric meter area into servant quarters and park their high-end bikes there

On their return, the family followed up with civic officials and got the gym dismantled but the Bajaj brothers then allegedly encroached the electric room. "They have recently parked their high-end motorcycle in the electric room…What if a short circuit takes place? The big petrol tank of the motorcycle will aggravate the fire," she said.

The complainant said the businessmen turned the electric room into a servant quarter. "We again followed up with the BMC officials and got it demolished this year. This irked Bajaj brothers."

‘Development rights with us'

Mansukhani said her mother Kalpana Mohan was a well-known actress in the 1960s. "She worked with many actors including Dev Anand, Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, and Kishore Kumar. In 1963, she purchased a plot on 18th Khar Road and got a bungalow," Mansukhani told mid-day.

In 1986, she said, the actress made a development rights agreement (DRA) with a company called Meghna International. Her bungalow is behind the plot which was given for development and later became Preeti Apartment. The developer was allowed to sell four floors, while the top floor and terrace remained with her mother, she said.

Preeti Apartment on 18th Khar Road

"Since it was a freehold land, further development rights on this land remain with our family only. And it is very categorically mentioned in many places in the DRA. The first floor was sold to Jasjit Singh Bajaj, the second floor was sold to a Sindhi family that lives in Dubai and visits India once a year, the occupants of the third floor are a peaceful family, and the fourth floor was first sold to a person having some political link. Since the fourth-floor owner had some attachment with both the brothers Jaswinder Bajaj and Swaranjit Bajaj, they gave staying rights to these two brothers on the fourth floor," she said.

‘It's not a coop. society'

Mansukhani accused the Bajajs of misrepresenting the place as a cooperative housing society with a fake letterhead. "They have hired five bouncers and often hatch a conspiracy to intimidate /threaten me and usurp my land rights and my property from me and my family and browbeat me into submission to run away or sell my property to them on any unfavourable terms," she added.

"By doing all this constant harassment, trespass, making illegal structure in terrace /creating illegal structure of rooms in open Electric Metre area is nothing but gross violation of BMC rules without any permission or authority and completely encroaching the open compound with high-end motorcycles and five to six high-end cars," she said.

She said her mother's cars, now vintage vehicles, have been parked on the premises. "In the CCTV, Bajaj was also seen removing these old vehicles of my mother," she said. "I got completely terrified seeing these videos, as our personal property is under constant threat. Hence we approached Khar police station immediately on the same evening."

While cops visited the premises on June 3, Mansukhani said, the Bajaj family threatened her family in the presence of cops. "We were also manhandled by the Jaswinder Bajaj who spoke rudely with me, my son and husband."

"They have been harassing and threatening us. We are small fry in this area and in deep contrast, the Bajaj family is powerful and often cites big names and musclemen of Bandra to shut our mouths. I am thankful to Khar police station senior inspector Mohan Mane for helping us in registering an FIR against Bajaj family," she said.

"Based on the complaint of victim, we have registered an FIR against four people including Swaranjit Singh Bajaj, Jaswinder Bajaj, Saheb Bajaj and their driver Kiran under sections 341 [wrongful constraint], 427 [mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees], 504 [intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace], 506 [criminal intimidation], 120-B [criminal conspiracy], and 34 [common intention] of IPC," said a police officer.

Will fight in court: Accused

Swaranjit Bajaj said, "I am shocked to know that my name is also mentioned in the FIR. I have nothing to do with the alleged dispute. We have been deprived of parking area as mentioned by the developers. They have parked four khatara vehicles with no tyres in the wheels since last 32 years."

"I am a follower of Siddhu Moose Wala and I am not going to bend before anyone. They have misused their power by mentioning my name in the FIR whereas I was not in India. I have just returned to India after holidaying in Dubai.... How police can include my name in the FIR?" he said. About the terrace gym, he said, "All the gyms were shut down in the pandemic. So I got it made on the terrace which is a common place for all the residents. The terrace is not exclusively given to them (Mansukhanis). I have all the pieces of evidence to prove my innocence and I will fight it in the court."