Sena (UBT) MLA Ravindra Waikar, five others booked for cheating over construction of luxury hotel in Mumbai

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The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police has booked Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackrey) legislator Ravindra Waikar and five others in connection with the construction of a luxury hotel in a western suburb, an official said on Friday.

According to the official, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had given land to the Supremo Club at Jogeshwari to run a sports facility but Waikar allegedly used his clout to obtain permission to facilitate the construction of a five-star hotel there causing loss to the civic body.

PTI reported that this amounted to a violation of the agreement with the BMC about the use of the land. The case was registered on Thursday on the complaint of a BMC official at the Azad Maidan police station, the official said.

The FIR (first information report) has been registered for cheating, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy and dishonestly including delivery of property, the official said. Waikar's wife has also been named in the FIR, he said.

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Earlier, the EOW had launched a preliminary inquiry after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleged that Waikar illegally obtained approval for the construction of a five-star hotel on a plot reserved for a garden by using his political clout which caused losses to the BMC.

In his complaint, Somaiya alleged the "scam" was worth Rs 500 crore.

The EOW then sent notices to officials of the BMC's Garden and Building Department asking them to join the investigation.

Waikar has been an MLA from Jogeshwari East for three consecutive terms since 2009 and was a minister in the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet between 2014 and 2019.

He was a BMC corporator from 1992 to 2010 and served as chairman of the powerful Standing Committee of the civic body between 2006 and 2010.

Meanwhile, an offence has been registered against the directors of a Nagpur-based construction company for allegedly cheating Economic Explosives Limited (EEL) of Rs 42.98 crore in a land deal, police said on Friday.

Based on a complaint lodged by Shyamsunder Mundada, deputy manager at EEL, the police on Thursday registered a case under sections 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code against Shiv and Ritu Agrawal, directors of Haveliwala Constructions and Developers Private Limited, an official said.

The Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the Nagpur Police has launched a probe into the case, he said.

As per a police release, EEL, as part of its expansion plans to establish a research and development unit, entered an agreement with Haveliwala Constructions and Developers Private Limited.

The deal, signed on July 1, 2022, entailed the purchase of four pieces of land at Mouza Waddhamna and Mouza Suradurdi, it said.

However, despite receiving a substantial sum of Rs 42.98 crore from EEL, the accused allegedly did not execute the sale deed as per the agreement.

An investigation is now underway under the supervision of deputy commissioner of police (EoW) Archit Chandak to uncover the details of this alleged land fraud, the release stated. (With inputs from PTI)