Pune Police record statements in bizman family property dispute case

We have completed the process of recording the statements of Rajiv Pittie and other family members as well as a few witnesses, said Dattatray Waghmare, assistant police inspector with the Economic Offences Wing, Pune police

The Pune police on Wednesday said they have recorded statements of a businessman and his family members against whom an FIR has been registered following a complaint by his brother, Bharat Manoharlal Pittie, over alleged illegal restraint from entering ancestral property.

Bharat, who was adopted by his uncle in 1975 but returned to live with his parents within months, said his parents had executed multiple wills dividing the properties equally between him and Rajiv, the last one signed by his mother before her death this year. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

“An FIR was registered against Rajiv Pittie and four other family members under section 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in July. We have completed the process of recording the statements of Rajiv Pittie and other family members as well as a few witnesses,” said Dattatray Waghmare, assistant police inspector with the Economic Offences Wing, Pune police.

Bharat (57), who runs a textile unit manufacturing woollen garments in Bhosari, lodged a complaint against Rajiv alleging that his brother and relatives illegally stopped him from entering the family’s ancestral properties worth crores of rupees.

Bharat, a member of the family that founded Raja Bahadur Poona Mills in 1891, has claimed ownership over an ancestral bungalow spread over 40,000 sqft on Boat Club Road and another property in Kharadi measuring over 5,000 sqft.

When contacted, Rajiv said, “There is nothing in the case. It is all made up.”

According to the FIR, the three-storey Boat Club Road bungalow was shared by family members: Rajiv’s son Pranav and his wife lived on the ground floor, Bharat and his mother on the first, and Rajiv and his wife on the third. After his mother’s death in June 2024, Bharat alleged that he was denied entry into the property.

“In October 2024, when I tried to enter the bungalow, the watchman stopped me at the gate, saying Rajiv and his family had instructed him not to allow me inside, and then shut the gate,” Bharat claimed in his complaint.

He further alleged that while abroad, locks to his portion were broken, and his belongings remain inside. He also objected to an advertisement for sale of the Kharadi property, issuing a public notice stating it could not be sold without his consent.

Bharat, who was adopted by his uncle in 1975 but returned to live with his parents within months, said his parents had executed multiple wills dividing the properties equally between him and Rajiv, the last one signed by his mother before her death this year.