Nearly two months after 11 people were booked for duping a freelance Art Director to the tune of Rs 30 lakh by assuring him a flat in the Cotton Green area, the accused have applied for anticipatory bail at the Bombay High Court alleging that they were falsely implicated in the case. The FIR was filed on April 14 at the Kalachowki police station.
In July 2023, the complainant Hitesh Khuman, 29, a resident of Mahim, overheard people outside Lakshmi Building, Zakaria Bandar Road in Cotton Green talking about a flat for sale. A person named Devidayal Gupta mentioned about the flat owned by Suresh Gaikwad, initially priced at Rs45 lakh, negotiated to Rs 30 lakh. After completing all legal formalities, including a transfer deed, Khuman paid the entire amount.
Later, he discovered the building belonged to Bombay Port Trust and the room was under the Mumbai Police’s possession, making it unsellable. Khuman also alleged Gaikwad sold the same flat to several others using the same scheme. The FIR names Suresh Gaikwad, Gupta, Kusum Gaikwad (Suresh’s mother), and witnesses Nalini Borade, Rajesh Borade, Yogesh Borade, Bhupendra Borade, Nirmala Borade, Karuna Prabhat, Devendra Borade, and Aruna Kandkar as the accused.
The FIR was registered on April 14 under sections 420 (cheating), 34 (common intention), 467 (forgery of valuable will, security), 468 (forgery for cheating), and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code. Yet, no arrests have been made.
Three of the accused, Suresh and his mother Kusum Gaikwad and Devidayal Gupta allege that the FIR is premeditated at the behest of the complainant and the residents of the building who are police officials.
“The officials of Mumbai police are the trespassers in the property (Lakshmi Building) and by undue influence, they are trying to grab the property owned by Kusum Gaikwad. As per several documents and RTI applications with the police commissioner’s office and application to the Home Department it is revealed that the premises do not belong to police officials who have illegally occupied the premises,” said the plea.
“The hearing for the plea is on June 12,” said advocate Chandrabhushan Shukla, representing Suresh, Kusum Gaikwad and Devidayal Gupta.
