The Mumbai police have booked two directors of Shriji developers, Kirti Mehta and Mona Kiran Mehta, along with estate agent Sunil Bafna, for criminal breach of trust and cheating.
The Kandivali police on Monday registered an offence on the complaint of Narendra Shah, a real estate investor, who alleged that he had invested Rs 2 crores in 2019 to book seven flats in a housing project undertaken by Shriji constructions in Kandivali west. The project was supposed to be completed by 2021, but Shah discovered that the developer had sold the project to Ruparel Reality instead.
According to Shah’s FIR, he was introduced to the Mehtas through Bafna in 2019. The Mehtas informed him about their firm’s ongoing housing project in Kandivali west, which involved rehabilitating people under the SRA Scheme and selling flats in the saleable component. Shah visited the site, saw the construction in progress, and was assured by the Mehtas that investing in the project would yield good returns in the future. Convinced, Shah booked six flats and signed the sale purchase agreement, paying the Mehtas Rs 1.75 crores in various installments. Additionally, he paid Rs 35 lakhs for seven parking lots, Rs 25 lakhs for registration and stamp duty, Rs 10 lakhs for GST, and Rs 7 lakhs as commission to the estate agent.
However, in 2022, Shah was shocked to learn that the Mehtas had sold the project to Ruparel Realty, effectively canceling the agreement between them and Shah. Despite repeated promises to return his investment of Rs 2.25 crores, the Mehtas failed to do so, leaving Shah feeling cheated. The Kandivli police have now initiated an investigation into the matter.
Commenting on the situation, Thane-based social activist Melwyn Fernandes stated, “Today the real estate investment is dangerous for common people, it is not safe ,after many stringent laws like RERA,MPID etc against developers But common Citizens will lose their hard earned money, which was saved for their retirement age, repeatedly in last few years Maharashtra government should bring sau moto new law to tackle this huge financial frauds in real estate sector.”
