Following the court’s direction, the Chembur police have registered a case of money laundering against hotelier Manjit Singh Abrol and 10 others for allegedly selling and buying a land which has a government-aided school – Sind Cosmopolitan High School – located in Chembur East for the past 65 years. Since the Chembur police did not initially register the FIR, the complainant moved the magistrate’s court at Kurla, which directed cops to file a case and complete the investigation within two months.
The complainant is Dipak Inder Ahuja, 51, who served as the school principal from 2009 until he was ‘summarily’ suspended in 2020-21. According to him, the accused, including Abrol, have submitted multiple forged documents, including deed of conveyance, letter of possession, general power of attorney and affidavit cum indemnity bond, for purchase and sale of the land which belongs to the school.
Other key accused, excluding Abrol, are Sunita Ramesh Mata, Pradip Ramesh Mata, Dinesh Ramesh Mata, Kapil Ramesh Mata, Popat Ovhal and Janhvi Pradeep Mata. Some of them are heirs of trustees of the school. The complainant added that the aforesaid accused sold the land to Abrol for a whopping Rs8.68 crore, with the help of forged documents. Pointing out that there are no records of transactions, Ahuja alleged there was flow of black money to complete the deal.
Alleged Land Sale Irregularities And Illegal Takeover Prompt Multiple Criminal Charges in FIR
The said two-third undivided area – which equals to an estimate of 66.66% of the land – was sold to Abrol on May 10, 2016. The deal was inked without any stamp duty or registration charges, said Ahuja in his police statement. He further alleged that the agenda of Abrol, also a builder, to buy the land is to close the school to develop multiplex, mall and apartments. An irrevocable power of attorney has been made by Abrol in the name of his son Charanjit Singh Abrol. In 2020-21, they had entered the school premises with their bouncers and bodyguards to illegally take over the institute’s possession. Posing as managing authorities, they suspended the complainant.
In the FIR, police have added multiple criminal charges against the accused, including 120B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust) 420 (cheating), 423 (dishonest or fraudulent execution of deed of transfer containing false statement of consideration), 200 (using as true such declaration knowing it to be false), 441 (criminal trespass), 464 (making a false document), 467 (forgery) and 192 (fabricating false evidence) of the Indian Penal Code. The relevant sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act have bee invoked as well.
