Spain consulate staffer cheated of ₹5 lakh by Mumbai landlord

A visa official posted at the consulate general of Spain has filed a complaint with the Cuffe Parade police station against the landlord of a residential flat for

A visa official posted at the consulate general of Spain has filed a complaint with the Cuffe Parade police station against the landlord of a residential flat for duping him of ₹5 lakh.

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The complainant Haresh Bilani, 48, in his complaint to said that he entered into a 24-month leave-and-license agreement with Alen Franklin on October 22, 2018, for his flat in Jalkiran building at Cuffe Parade.

It was decided between the two that Bilani would use the two-bedroom area in the three-bedroom flat, while Franklin would live in the third room. Bilani was paying a monthly rent of ₹60,000 and had also given Franklin a refundable deposit of ₹5 lakh. The complainant also paid to rent furniture in the house.

Bilani has alleged that in April 2019, Franklin served him notice, asking him to vacate the flat as he had decided to sell it. Bilani vacated the flat on November 20, 2019, following which Franklin inspected the flat for damages but did not find any, stated the complaint, of which HT has a copy.

Franklin kept avoiding Bilani’s phone calls and the complainant later learnt that Franklin had not sold the flat.

Bilani then approached the police, and on October 6, a case was registered under section 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Franklin.