Developer Arrested for Duping Mumbai Tenants of Rs 100 Crore

Image used for representational purposes only. 

(Photo: iStock)

The Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai Police on Tuesday arrested a Mumbai-based developer, for duping 21 tenants of a Wadala building off Rs 100 crore, on the pretext of redevelopment.

According to the Hindustan Times, Shirish Dixit, who had promised the tenants of the building that he would complete the redevelopment process in 36 months, had failed to complete the same in the past eight years.

The report adds that he had tricked the tenants off Rs 100 crore by refusing to pay rent to the tenants and mortgaging the building.

The arrest came soon after a Sunil Kishan Soi filed an official complaint with the Mumbai police which stated that several years ago, Dixit had signed an assignment with the original owner of the building, and on that basis, he later told the 21 tenants he was now the new owner of the building and would not allow any other developer to work on it, the report adds.

According to Soi’s complaint, he had also promised the tenants bigger flats and shops, rent and several amenities, as long as they agreed to view him as the official developer of their property. 

The report adds that he had told them they would have relocate for a little while, just until the redevelopment process was completed.

However, once they shifted to an alternate accommodation, Dixit did not indicate any signs of completing the alleged work on the building and had in fact, stopped them from receiving rent.

The tenants, as reported in the Hindustan Times, had not received rent since 2012. In fact, it added that they later learned that Dixit had, without informing them, mortgaged the building to Dhiren Patel of the Sangoi Group.

Dixit had reportedly taken a loan of over Rs 10 crore from Patel, and when he failed to pay it back, Patel had filed a suit against him and demanded Rs 27 crore.

Dixit was then made to transfer ownership rights of the building to Patel. Some of his properties too, were auctioned by the Bombay High Court in an attempt to complete the redevelopment process, the report adds.

(With inputs from Hindustan Times)