BKC police book HDIL, Rakesh Wadhawan in two fresh cases

MUMBAI: The Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) police on Wednesday booked the controversy-stricken construction company Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) and its promoter Rakesh Wadhawan in two cases of cheating and criminal conspiracy. Registered on the direction of the Bandra court, both cases involve residents of slum areas in Bandra East claiming that they had not sold their houses to the developer but documents about the sale were presented to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA).

One of the complainants is Bharat Nagar resident Fariduddin Sheikh, 68, while the other is Hamidabano Sheikh, 55, from Maharashtra Nagar. They told the court and the police that they never signed any sale deeds, affidavits and powers of attorney that were produced by the company’s representatives to the SRA during an internal enquiry. Moreover, they said that the company even produced fake witnesses in the case.

In his complaint, Fariduddin, a retired Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) worker said, “As per instructions from the SRA, we handed over our property to HDIL in 2006. We were provided transit rent by the builders between 2006 and 2011. Even though they had not been able to construct the alternate accommodation we were to be provided, they did not agree to pay any more transit rent.”

Fariduddin claimed that there are more residents from both the localities who have been similarly duped by HDIL who are now gathering courage to come forward as they look his and Hamida’s cases moving along.

The dispute was taken to the SRA’s internal dispute redressal committee in 2018, he added. The documents as well as the witnesses produced before the committee were proven fake subsequently. Hamidabano claimed to have a similar experience. The duo thereafter approached the Bombay high court over their pending dues and the matters are pending.

An official from the BKC police station confirmed the development. He added that based on the statements of the two complainants, Rakesh Wadhawan along with the fake witnesses had been booked under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 423 (Dishonest or fraudulent execution of the deed of transfer containing false statement of consideration), 463 (Whoever makes any false document or false electronic record or part of a document or electronic record with intent to cause damage or injury, to the public or to any person, or to support any claim or title, or to cause any person to part with property), 467 (Forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (presenting forged documents as genuine) of the Indian Penal Code.

“We will look through the documents submitted by the complainants and those presented to the SRA to determine their genuineness,” said the officer.