The Mumbai police have booked two directors of Shriji Developers, Kirti Mehta and Mona Kiran Mehta, along with estate agent Sunil Bafna, for criminal breach of trust and cheating. The Kandivali police registered an offence on the complaint of Narendra Shah, a real estate investor, who alleged he had invested Rs 2 crores in 2019 to book seven flats in a housing project by Shriji Constructions in Kandivali West. The project was supposed to be completed by 2021, but Shah discovered that the developer had sold the project to Ruparel Realty instead.
Shah's FIR states that he was introduced to the Mehtas through Bafna in 2019. The Mehtas informed him about their firm's ongoing housing project in Kandivali West, which involved rehabilitating people under the SRA Scheme and selling flats in the saleable component. Convinced by their assurances, Shah booked six flats, signed the sale purchase agreement, and paid Rs 1.75 crores in installments. Additionally, he paid Rs 35 lakhs for seven parking lots, Rs 25 lakhs for registration and stamp duty, Rs 10 lakhs for GST, and Rs 7 lakhs as commission to the estate agent.
In 2022, Shah was shocked to learn that the Mehtas had sold the project to Ruparel Realty, effectively canceling the agreement. Despite repeated promises to return his Rs 2.25 crores investment, the Mehtas failed to do so, leaving Shah feeling cheated. The Kandivali police have now initiated an investigation into the matter.
Commenting on the situation, Thane-based social activist Melwyn Fernandes stated, "Real estate investment is dangerous for common people, even with laws like RERA and MPID. Citizens repeatedly lose their hard-earned money saved for retirement. The Maharashtra government should introduce a new law to tackle these huge financial frauds in the real estate sector."