Impersonator convicted for trying to grab 109-acre land

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court held a 78-year-old woman guilty of criminal contempt on Friday after it noticed that she filed a petition impersonating the mother

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court held a 78-year-old woman guilty of criminal contempt on Friday after it noticed that she filed a petition impersonating the mother of a senior advocate, as part of a purported conspiracy to grab 109 acres of land along Ghodbundar Road in Thane.

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The accused has been identified as Piloo Pervez Mehta.

The division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Amjad Sayed observed that it had no option but to hold her guilty for impersonating 90-year-old Siloo Mistry.

Mehta will be produced before court on August 23, when it will pronounce the quantum of sentence to be handed down to her.

Mehta’s petition sought the registration of an FIR. She complained that though she had lodged a written complaint with the Kasarvadavali police station at Thane in December 2015, the police did not act on it.

Mehta alleged that she was the owner of 109 acres of land at Borivade village. She said that though she sold the land to Gilbert Mendonca in 1981, the Swami Samarth Co-operative Society entered itself into the revenue record as owners of the property on the basis of a forged sale deed.

The scam was unearthed when the petition came up for hearing and Jahangir Mistry pointed out that the petition had been filed in his mother’s name, when in fact, his mother had done no such thing. The court summoned Mehta and her brother, Kersi Guard, and recorded their statements. Mehta admitted to impersonating Siloo Mistry, the real owner of the property.

The Kasarvadavali police station registered an offence against Mehta, Guard, Gilbert Mendonca — at whose behest they allegedly committed the impersonation — and Ashok Hire — Mendonca’s accomplice. An offence was also registered against advocate GB Lal, who represented Mehta in the petition.