Mumbai’s realty sector has received a major jolt following reports of a controversial deal involving a prime plot in the eastern suburb worth Rs 800 crore.
According to police, six months after a deal between real estate major HDIL and Kanakia Group was finalised, a third party, BSN Developer, claimed the 30,000 sq mt plot off the Andheri-Kurla Road in northeast Mumbai belonged to it and filed a complaint against HDIL with the Andheri police.
Soon after the matter came to light, HDIL also filed a police complaint against BSN Developers. Preliminary investigations revealed that BSN had paid Rs 1.2 crore stamp duty to get the land registered at the sub registrar’s office of the registration department allegedly by submitting fake papers.
Additional commissioner of police Vishwas Nangare-Patil told Business Standard: “Prima facie it is a case of forgery. The investigating team is gathering further details and recording statements of the concerned parties.” HDIL declined to comment on the issue, while BSN Developer could not be traced.
“Investigations carried out so far has revealed that the architect’s certificate produced by BSN Developer is fake. The sale deed — submitted by the company claiming that the original owner of the land, A Thakur, had sold the land to them — has also turned out to be fake because Thakur died last August. The statements of tenants residing in slums on the land are also fake. The police will soon trace the whereabouts of BSN Developers and record its statement,” said an investigating officer.
Investigators said the land belonged to the Thakur family, which sold it to HDIL two years ago for over Rs 400 crore. Today, about 20 per cent of the plot has been occupied by slums.
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Cases of cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, forgery, using as genuine a forged document or electronic record and selling goods marked with a counterfeit property mark have been registered against BSN Developers.
A registration department official said BSN Developer had notarised the power of attorney and conveyance documents at Varanasi.
The investigating officer said the registration department, which carried out a probe into the transaction, has submitted a report with the police and an Andheri police team will soon leave for Varanasi. HDIL has also moved the court against BSN Developers.
In January, HDIL sold the property to Kanakia Group which will develop seven lakh sq ft for a commercial complex. Commercial rates in this area are ranging between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 per sq ft. Realty experts had termed the deal as one of the largest beyond Bandra.