Mumbai News: Ghatkopar Builder Booked In ₹27 Cr Fraud Case

Mumbai: The Ghatkopar police have booked developer Kersi Randeria, director of Ahura Mazda and is associated with several other companies, for cheating and defrauding Ambaji Constructions to the tune of Rs. 27 crores.

The complainant in the case is 74-year-old Kushala Shetty, who runs Deepa Bar and Restaurant at Ghatkopar East. Her late husband, Sadanand Shetty, before he died in 1998, along with three others had leased land at Jaybhavani Compound in Ghatkopar’s LBS Road. The three partners are Bholanath Yadav, Ramanand Prajapati and Dayabhai Patel. They together started Ambaji Constructions and had planned to develop a project on the leased land, under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). An agreement was made between the four and the SRA in 1993 after they got consent from the locals living in the slums in the area.

Complainant Received EOW Summons In August 2023

However, according to Shetty, after her husband’s death, she didn’t keep a tab on the company until August 2023, when she received a summon notice from Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW). As per EOW, since her husband’s death, the rights to Ambaji Constructions were transferred to her name. The reason for the summon was that a company named Heritage Corporation had filed an FIR against Ambaji Constructions on the charges of cheating. Likewise, Jivdaya SRA CHS Ltd. too had filed a case against Kersi Randeria alleging that he made up a firm associated with Ambaji Constructions – which she did not know.

As per the FIR, Randeria teamed up with Yadav (one of the partners of Ambaji Constructions) to develop the leased land, for which he appointed an architect and using forged documents, they obtained NOC from the collector’s office to begin the construction work. However, as differences started popping up between Yadav and Randeria, they split up. Yadav had filed a case against Randeria at the City Civil Court, but he died in 2010. Shetty alleges that the petition in court was withdrawn by Yadav’s heirs, due to influence and bribe from Randeria, and shortly later, he obtained all powers in the name of Ambaji Constructions by teaming up with Heritage Housing Corporation in a joint venture. They created two rehab buildings on the land and sold several apartments. It is said that Randeria made a profit of over Rs. 55 crores in this business.

Randeria Never Paid Profits To His Partners

As per the original agreement, Dayabhai shared 10% of the share, Shetty 25%, Yadav 40% and Prajapati 25% of the profit, which Randeria never paid any of the original members, which as per Shetty is around 27.50 crores, hence she registered the complaint against him on Thursday. Charges of cheating, and forgery, have been added against Randeria in the FIR.

In the past, Randeria was booked by Mumbai Police several times for property-related offences, assault and cheating charges.