Worli woman duped of ₹16 lakh under the guise of MHADA flat

Woman duped of ₹16 lakh by fake promise of MHADA flat for mill workers. Police hunt real estate agent and associates. Case registered under IPC sections 409 and 420.

MUMBAI: A 47-year-old woman was allegedly duped of ₹16 lakh on the promise of being given an MHADA flat from the government scheme for mill workers. The Kalachowki police have registered a case against the real estate agent and his associates and have launched a manhunt for them.

HT Image

According to the police, the complainant, Ambika Kadam, lives in the Worli area with her husband, two children, and her senior citizen mother. Her mother retired from the post office, and her husband works for BEST. The family had been planning to buy a flat since 2019. Her relative, Pravin Namdev Banaya, 40, introduced her to a real estate agent, Prashant Mistry, who runs an office of Dhanlaxmi A to Z Consultancy and could help them get a flat.

The complainant’s husband, Pravin Kadam, met Prashant Mistry in his office in Lalbag in January 2020, where Mistry was sitting with his wife. Mistry said he had a house in his relative’s name under the government scheme for mill workers in a MHADA building and that he could help Kadam get the flat within 15 days. The total amount would be ₹32 lakh. It was decided to pay ₹16 lakh in advance by cheque, with the remaining amount to be paid upon possession.

After that, Mistry and Banaya took the complainant couple to show them rooms at Prakash Cotton Mill, Mill Workers Colony, and Piramal Mill Workers Colony. The flat was on the 18th floor of Prakash Cotton Girni Kamgar Vasahat, Parel. The complainant paid the first installment of ₹2 lakh through cheque, and a week later, they transferred ₹10 lakh to Mistry through RTGS in the last week of January 2020. The accused promised that they would prepare the documents for the flat, said a police official.

After a week, when the complainant called the accused to inquire about the documents, the accused introduced one Jayant Keni, claiming to be an MHADA employee, who showed them a file containing the documents. The room was in another person’s name, and new documents were prepared in the name of the complainant, said the FIR.

On February 18, 2020, the accused called the complainants and asked them to pay the remaining amount to get possession of the room. The complainant then paid ₹4 lakh. After that, the accused started giving excuses and did not provide possession of the flat, nor did they return the money. So, she approached the Kalachowki police, and a case was registered against Mistry and his associates under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, said a police officer.