Man booked for staying illegally in govt quarter for 38 years
The accused, Ravikant Shravan Kamble, owes the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and the general administration department (GAD), which allots quarters to state government employees, an amount of ₹25.50 lakh as rent
MUMBAI: A 50-year-old man has been booked by the Marine Drive police for staying illegally in a government quarter for the past 38 years. The accused, Ravikant Shravan Kamble, owes the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and the general administration department (GAD), which allots quarters to state government employees, an amount of ₹25.50 lakh as rent.
According to first information report (FIR) in the case, Shankar Sayyaji Kamble, a peon with the water supply and sanitation department, was allotted a flat in Shivneri building at Dadasaheb Phalke Road in Dadar East in 1970. His name was entered in the records as SS Kamble, based on his initials.
Shravan Ravji Kamble, a friend of Shankar Sayyaji Kamble, used to live with him in the same apartment. But when the latter went missing on May 22, 1986, Shravan Kamble did not vacate the flat. Instead, after some time, his sons Ravikant, Suryakant and Shashikant moved into the flat and began staying there with their father.
“Since Shankar Kamble and Shravan Kamble had similar names, the latter posed as SS Kamble, using the same initials as the missing peon, and continued staying in the flat. His sons even made ration cards and voter’s identity cards on the same address,” said a police officer.
The matter came to light in July this year, when Parvitabai Kamble, wife of the missing Shankar Kamble, moved the Bombay high court seeking possession of the house. After hearing her petition, the court directed the police to register a case against its present occupant.
“Accordingly, we have booked Ravikant Shravan Kamble under sections 419 (cheating by personation), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code,” said the police officer. The FIR was registered based on a complaint by Kailash Mungere, who works with the general administration department in Mantralaya.
The missing peon’s wife had complained to the general administration department in 2007 too, saying that her husband was missing since 1986 and the house allotted to him was being used by Shravan Ravji Kamble. A team of officers subsequently visited the house and found that his son Ravikant Kamble was living there.
“Shravan Kamble and his sons were served an eviction notice at this time. So he moved the Bombay high court challenging the notice but his plea was rejected. He then asked for some time to vacate the house and was given time till April 30, 2009,” said a police officer.
But neither Shravan Kamble nor his sons vacated the house thereafter. In February 2020, they were issued eviction notices yet again with a warning that they would be forcefully evicted from the house, but no such action was taken against them.
Following the registration of the FIR against Ravikant Kamble, the flat in question has now been sealed, said the police officer. The family also owes the state government ₹25.50 lakh as rent since 1986, he added.