Mumbai: Builder Booked For Trying To Usurp Musician's Property

The Oshiwara police have booked a builder for allegedly trying to usurp a musician's property, with the help of fake documents, including the forged signature of the latter's dead father. In his police complaint lodged on September 5, Edward Gonsalves, 50, said that he owns house no 49, Oshiwara village, SV Road, Jogeshwari West.

According to the FIR, he visited the property on January 27 and found the lock to be broken open. Upon further enquiry, Gonsalves came to know that the accused, Mohammad Rafiq Mohammad Hussain Tinwala, the owner of Mega Developers, had committed trespassing, said the FIR.

The duo then approached the Oshiwara police and the complainant produced the original property documents. However, when Tinawala was asked to show papers, he made an excuse that they were kept at his home and that he would come back soon with them, the FIR added. The accused never returned, pointed out Gonsalves, adding that he later discovered that Tinawala had created a fake gumasta licence for the same property. It's a mandatory registration required for doing any business in Maharashtra.

Subsequently, Gonsalves approached the BMC and found out that Tinawala had applied for the licence in 2022. However, the civic body did not provide the detailed list of documents that he had submitted to get the registration done. In February, Gonsalves obtained information through the Right to Information Act and made a shocking discovery, said the FIR. He came to know that the builder had allegedly submitted a fake photograph and signature of his late father on the gumasta application.

Gonsalves' father had passed away in 2016, but Tinawala used another individual's photograph in place of his father, said the FIR. The lawyer's signature and stamp on the agreement were also fake, he added. Tinawala submitted these fake documents to the BMC intending to illegally acquire the property, Gonsalves asserted.

A case has been filed for cheating and dishonesty and forgery.