Police arrest notorious criminal in Achole land grab case

A notorious criminal charged under MCOCA was arrested at Mumbai airport. He is accused of grabbing land and building illegal buildings on it.

MUMBAI: The economic offences wing of Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police on Monday arrested a notorious criminal charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). The accused, identified as Vijay Purshottam Salvi alias Vijay Tambat, had escaped from the country and a Lookout Circular (LOC) was issued against him in 2021.

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Salvi was detained by immigration officials after landing at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) from United Arab Emirates. He was handed over to the Thane crime branch which is investigating the MCOCA case against him. The MBVV police took his custody on Tuesday and produced him in the Vasai court. He was remanded in police custody till November 28.

In 2022, Salvi was named in a case registered by the Achole police station in Vasai East. He was accused grabbing 60 acres of land belonging to private individuals and erecting 41 illegal buildings on the land two decades ago. The case was registered based on a complaint by Ajay Sharma, caretaker of around 30 acres (out of the 60 acres), who alleged that Sitaram Gupta, a former corporator belonging to the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA), and his associates had grabbed the land purportedly using fabricated documents. They were charged under sections 420, 447, 465, 467, 468, 471, 474 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Sitaram Gupta was arrested by Achole police on September 23, after he failed to secure anticipatory bail from the sessions court and the Bombay high court. Following his arrest, police learned that Gupta and his brother and other accomplices had grabbed 60 acres of land, half of which was reserved for a water purification plant and dumping ground. He purportedly fabricated ownership documents and sold the entire stretch to various builders, who subsequently constructed 41 illegal buildings on the land.

During his interrogation, Gupta told police that he had bought the land from Salvi, who had grabbed the land using the name and clout of underworld gangster Ravi Pujari. Gupta is presently out on bail, but Salvi claims that he has not grabbed any land in Achole and hasn’t sold any land to Gupta or anybody else.

“We are in the process of ascertaining the facts and collecting the necessary documents,” said a police officer from economic offences wing of MBVV police.