The Bandra police have arrested five individuals associated with Suchit Developers, accused of cheating a widow out of her flat in Bandra West, which she purchased in 2005. The arrested individuals are Lachman Sajnani, Anil Sajnani, Dilip Manghnani, Anant Rane, and Vikrant Vaidya.
The police initially hesitated to act despite clear directives from the Bombay High Court and the sessions court. The situation changed only after Meena Tawrani, the 64-year-old complainant, reached out to Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar. Following their arrest on Monday, the accused were presented in sessions court and remanded to police custody until June 28.
Notably, Lachman Sajnani is the father-in-law of actress Sonnalli Seygall, while Anil Sajnani, also a director of Bholenath Developers Ltd, is her brother-in-law. Dilip Manghnani is recognized as the owner of Royal Garden in Juhu.
According to police reports, Tawrani’s husband passed away in 2000, after which she purchased a flat in a project by Suchit Developers near Jari Mari Mandir in December 2005 for Rs97.10 lakh, paying Rs85 lakh upfront. Despite paying an additional Rs15 lakh in 2015, she never received possession of the flat.
Initially, when Tawrani and her son approached the Bandra police, their complaint was classified as a civil dispute, and an FIR was not registered. Following this, Tawrani sought intervention from the Bombay High Court, which ordered police action. The FIR was finally registered on April 2, 2023, under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act, alongside sections 420 (cheating) and 409 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code.
Despite the FIR, the police delayed arrests and investigation, prompting Tawrani to escalate the matter to the sessions court. The court criticized the police for failing to adhere to Supreme Court guidelines post-FIR registration.
Tawrani expressed her frustration, stating, “We seek justice. In 2005, we sold our house to purchase a new one. However, the developers cheated us, and we are still living in a rented house.”
