Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has arrested another accused in the alleged ₹50 crore property fraud case. The accused has been identified as Shamsuddin Kasimali Qureshi (64), a resident of Bandra (West). He was produced before the Esplanade Court, which has remanded him to police custody till September 22.
Earlier, on September 3, the EOW had arrested Manoj Balwant Sawant (56), a real estate agent from Thane, in connection with the same case. Sawant is currently in judicial custody.
The FIR in this case was registered at Bangur Nagar Police Station under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, including Sections 318 (2, 4), 336 (3), 338 (39), 340 (1, 2), 341 (1, 2, 3, 4), 342 (1, 2), 61 (2) and 3(5).
The complainant, Elred Almeida (52), a shipping company manager from Malad, alleged that his late grandfather Andre Clement Balthazar Almeida had purchased a property in Malad in 1931 measuring 3,588 sq. meters. The property was inherited by Almeida’s father, uncle, and aunts. However, the family later allegedly discovered through official land records that their names had been fraudulently removed and replaced with the names of Balwant Vishwanath Sawant (now deceased) and later members of his family.
Investigations revealed that forged conveyance deeds, wills, and powers of attorney were allegedly prepared using fake seals, stamps, and forged signatures of deceased family members. These fraudulent documents were then used to transfer the property into the names of Sawant’s heirs and later to M/s Mural Builders & Developers LLP, based in Ahmedabad.
According to the complaint and investigation so far in 2006, accused persons allegedly prepared a fake development agreement using forged signatures of deceased members of the Almeida family. In 2020, the accused, in collusion with builders, registered Mural Builders & Developers LLP to gain further control of the property. Forged powers of attorney and conveyance deeds were submitted to the Sub-Registrar’s office to change ownership records.The fraud enabled the builders to obtain Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) permissions and a commencement certificate for construction on the disputed land.
Public Prosecutor Pravina Patil argued in court that the accused had played a direct role in preparing forged documents, including a fake power of attorney of the complainant’s father and forged signatures of deceased relatives. The fraud involves property worth over ₹50 crore. The police told the court that they need custody of the accused that Trace other accomplices involved in the fraud, Recover original forged documents, including the 2006 development agreement, Examine bank account transactions linked to the accused, Identify who provided the forged seals and prepared the fake documents.The Esplanade Court, after hearing arguments, granted police custody of Shamsuddin Qureshi till September 22.
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