Mumbai: Court Accepts Police Closure Report In FIR Against Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Waikar Over Jogeshwari Hotel Construction Case

Mumbai: The metropolitan magistrate court, Girgaon, on Thursday accepted the closure report submitted by the Mumbai police in the case registered against MP Ravindra Waikar, his wife Manisha and four close associates.

An offence was registered at Azad Maidan police station on September 14, 2023, against Waikar and others over the construction of a luxurious hotel on the Jogeshwari plot in violation of their agreement with the BMC. The police had filed a closure report in July, claiming that the case was filed out of misunderstanding and incomplete information. The move came after Waikar switched allegiance to Shinde Sena.

The FIR was registered based on a complaint from BMC engineer Santosh Mandavkar. The case includes allegations of cheating against the parliamentarian, his wife, business partners Aasu Nehlwai, Raj Lalchandani and Pruthvipal Bindra, and architect Arun Dubay. According to the complaint, Waikar had entered into a contract with the BMC, obtaining permission to run a sports facility on the Jogeshwari plot. This permission was granted during the tenure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Former BJP MP Kirit Somaiya had alleged that Waikar had committed a Rs500 crore scam by constructing a club and a luxury hotel on a reserved plot in violation of his agreement with the BMC. The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) had also initiated a preliminary inquiry based on Somaiya's complaint and summoned Waikar for questioning. The latter had also appeared before the EOW, after which a case was registered.

Later, Waikar had also moved the Bombay High Court, challenging the BMC's decision to cancel the permission granted to him in January 2021 to construct a five-star hotel in Jogeshwari on a reserved land. He had contended that before rolling back the permission, he was not given an opportunity to present his case. However, his plea was dismissed by the high court.