Mumbai: Builder, staff booked for refusing home to Maharashtrian

Almost a month after a Goregaon-based businessman alleged he was refused a flat because he is a Maharashtrian, the Malad police have registered a case against a builder and his employee. The two have been booked for depriving an Indian citizen of his right.

Almost a month after a Goregaon-based businessman alleged he was refused a flat because he is a Maharashtrian, the Malad police have registered a case against a builder and his employee. The two have been booked for depriving an Indian citizen of his right.

“The builder Rajesh Mehta and a sales employee, Varun Mehta, have been booked. However, no arrests have been made so far,” said an officer from the Malad police station.

On May 4, Vaibhav Rahate, 27, a car dealer, had gone to a builder’s Malad office to buy a flat in Celestial Heights, SV Road.

Rahate, in his complaint to the police, stated he was told the builder “will not sell the flat to Maharashtrians and Muslims, as they are non-vegetarians.”

Rahate immediately approached the Malad police, where his statement was recorded. However, an FIR was not registered. On May 29, Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam, along with local MLA Aslam Shaikh, staged a protest outside the Malad police station, after which the police promised swift action.

Mehta and his employee have been booked under section 153B (1) (b) of the Indian Penal Code.