2 cheat food stylist of ₹3.60 crore over Santacruz flat sale, booked

Two persons were booked last week by the Santacruz police for cheating food stylist Ivan Fernandes, 43, of ₹3.60 crore, on the pretext of selling him an apartment

Two persons were booked last week by the Santacruz police for cheating food stylist Ivan Fernandes, 43, of ₹3.60 crore, on the pretext of selling him an apartment at Link Road.

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The Santacruz police registered a first information report (FIR) against one Harish Madan and his father, Banarsilal Madan, under sections 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Fernandes told police officers that he had planned to book a spacious apartment and had taken help from a broker, who introduced him to Madan and his father who wanted to sell their 2,000-square-feet flat.

“Initially, they were demanding ₹9 crore for the flat, but after negotiations, a deal was fixed at ₹7 crore,” Fernandes said.

“Banarsilal said that he had taken a loan of ₹2.75 crore for the flat and had paid ₹35 lakh so far. I agreed to pay the unsettled dues of ₹2.40 crore to the bank, on the condition that the amount would go towards the apartment sale price. Banarsilal also asked for ₹1.20 crore in cash, to which I agreed,” Fernandes said.

Once, they agreed to meet in August, but did not turn up and stopped responding to messages.

“Banarsilal then told me that his family members were not ready to sell the flat, so I asked him to return my money. He said that he would give back only ₹2.40 crore,” said Fernandes.

Shriram Koregaonkar, senior inspector, Santacruz police station, confirmed that a case had been registered.

“We have booked the Madans and are investigating the case,” he said.

When HT contacted Madan, he said that all the allegations against him and his father were false.