Mumbai : The Mumbai sessions court has rejected the bail of builder Samir Bhojwani who had cheated actor Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu. Bhojwani is being prosecuted by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on the complaint by Panna Khatau and Divyakant Khatau, wife of industrialist Sunil Khatau, in a land grabbing case at Aksa beach to the tune of Rs 300 crore.
The court observed that were chances that Bhojwani might tamper with evidence and manipulate it could not be ruled out, as the investigation is incomplete.
Additional Sessions Judge SV Yarlagadda, while rejecting Bhojwani’s bail application, also observed that the court was prima facie satisfied about his involvement in the alleged crime – criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery of documents to usurp the property at Aksa beach.
The court observed that prima facie, it shows that Bhojwani was involved in preparation of false documents, use of false rubber stamps to show that as a genuine documents and he even managed the officers from the office of sub-registrars. The court also recorded that if Bhojwani is released, it will give him opportunity to influence the witnesses and he will destroy or manipulate evidence.
Further, the court has held that first informant and intervenor were the beneficiary of the estate of Mulraj Khatau.
The applicant through some other person hatched the conspiracy and with the help of some other person hatched conspiracy and with the help of forged documents tried to grab the property worth 300 crore, which was inherited by the informant by succession.
The court further held that even if the offences are reported at belated time, since the offence is of serious, it is not barred by limitations and objection of the advocate of Bhojwani was rejected. The Bandra police station have not taken any action so far against Bhojwani, the court ruled.
Khatau, a member of the Mulraj Khatau Trust had filed an FIR against Bhojwani.
As per the complaint, between 2001 and February 2018, Bhojwani, along with accomplices, had forged and fabricated several documents to make a wrongful and false claim over a 8,000 square metre plot at Aksa beach belonging to the Khatau family, very close to Dilip Kumar’s bungalow.
Earlier, a complaint was filed by Panna Khatau, wife of industrialist Sunit Khatau who was shot dead near the Mahalaxmi Racecourse in 1994. The complaint has alleged that Bhojwani conspired with Panna’s three relatives to get Dilip Kumar’s bungalow transferred in the name of Bhojwani’s father Narain. Panna filed the complaint in her capacity as a descendant of Mulraj Khatau, Sunita’s grandfather. The Mulraj Khatau Trust is the original owner of the bungalow plot. Bhojwani had earlier falsely claimed ownership of two plots on which Kumar’s bungalow was built at Pali Hill at Bandra. On January 6, the EOW raided Bhojwani’s residence at Bandra from where seventeen weapons, including knives and daggers, were seized.