Maharashtra Home Department Official Accuses Colleague Of ₹2.61 Crore Fraud In Powai Housing Row

Mumbai: A senior bureaucrat from the home department has accused his peer of allegedly cheating him and others of Rs2.61 crore. Notably, this is a cross-FIR filed on July 19 after the latter registered a case in 2024 with the Powai police.

Umesh Chandiwade, 47, additional secretary in the home department and Rajesh Govil, 58, deputy secretary in the same department, reside in the Blue Bell Society in Powai, which has two wings. Chandiwade has alleged that Govil duped him and other residents on the pretext of getting their flats registered in their names.

According to the FIR, an agreement was signed among the Hiranandani builder, the state government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority in 1986. As per the pact, the government was to provide land to Hiranandani, who in turn, was supposed to hand over 1,296 flats, including units in the Blue Bell society.

However, a public interest litigation was filed, opposing the agreement, which led to legal complexities. To cover legal expenses, every society member gave Rs1 lakh each, totalling to Rs28 lakh, which was handed over to Govil.

Chandiwade claimed that in a society meeting, Govil told them that the court decision would take around five to six years. He said that he had certain documents and contacts with senior officers and hence, he could get the flats registered within seven to eight months. However, Govil allegedly demanded Rs10 lakh to Rs15 lakh per member for the process.

Between July 2019 and 2021, 23 members gave a total of Rs2.61 crore to Govil, with some of them taking loans to arrange money. Chandiwade said that out of this amount, he collected Rs1.5 crore from B Wing and gave it to Govil. However, the flats were not registered in their names, Chandiwade alleged. He added that they even asked Govil to return their money in March 2022, but to no avail.

Based on Govil's 2024 complaint, Chandiwade was booked for criminal intimidation and insult, while the former has now been charged for cheating.