The Brave Pedestrian

Mumbai, 8th December 2018: Going behind the backs of the flat owners and residents of the posh Lodha New Cuffe Parade, a Lodha employee named Vinod R Parab has submitted applications on behalf of Dioro, Elisium, Enchante (and maybe Evoq also) to the state cooperation department on 17th October, 2018.   Lodha employee Vinod R Parab, who gave his residence address as "BDD Chawl, NM Joshi Marg, Mumbai 400011" claimed to have been elected as chief promoter by nine flat-owners each of Dioro, Elisium and Enchante.  Many flat-owners, when contacted, said that they had no knowledge of their name and signature being on such an application!  EVIDENTLY, NO SUCH ELECTIONS EVER HAPPENED. The law requires that a meeting of the promoters of the proposed cooperative society is held, where the chief promoter is elected, and a resolution is passed for seeking a certain name registration by the government department. It is evident that no such meeting was held. It i...

Mumbai, 12 November, 2018: If Lodha New Cuffe Parade were a movie, it might get a one-star rating out of five from its present occupants; and it would be "A" rated, because it is scary and unsafe for children. If Lodha New Cuffe Parade were a car, it would have to be recalled. Lodha NCP Wadala is touted as a super-luxury real estate project, and each flat is sold at between Rs 2.5 to 7 cr. But customers are not just disappointed, they are shocked to discover that these super-expensive flats flats are poorly designed, made of poor-quality materials, substandard, defective, prone to damage and seepage. Basic design flaws in the flats, the towers, and the entire layout, make it dangerous for occupants, maintenance staff and passersby.  Lodha NCP towers like Dioro, Enchante and Evoq have got part-OC (Occupation Certificate) from MMRDA, but they are unfit for habitation. The part-OC appears to be due to MMRDA officials' negligence or corruption, or both. MMRDA appea...

Mumbai, 8th November, 2018: At about 5.40 pm on Sunday, 4th November 2018, one of the two Tata Consultancy Services offices in Borivali, a western suburb of Mumbai near Sanjay Gandhi National Park, released a large amount of an unknown gas. The noisy emission was audible and visible from neighbouring buildings. I took this video of the gas emission .   I took the video with my cellphone from my sitting room window on the fifth floor, of Raheja Green building. And then I dialed 100 and called the police control room when the emission was still in progress.  A large quantity of white gas being released in TCS compound in Raheja Estate, Borivali East, Near Sanjay Gandhi National Park, on Sunday evening. In the presence of police officers from Kasturba Marg police station, TCS gate security personnel claimed that they had just discharged some expired CO2 (carbon dioxide) fire extinguishers, and that it was an innocuous and harmless release. But they could not provi...

Mumbai, 24th October, 2018: Yesterday, an open letter physically signed by 174 victims of Bhagtani builders, was sent to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Home Minister Dr Ranjit Patil, and top police authorities. The letter demanded departmental enquiry against investigating officers who avoided filing chargesheets against companies that duped over 2,500 families of their life savings, and decisive actions to bring back the absconding company directors, namely Mukesh and Laxman Bhagtani. We started the campaign for collecting physical signatures on 6th October, and during the next two weeks, copies of the Open Letter were kept for signatures by nine victims at their residences and offices in Mumbai, from Mira Road to Bandra, and Versova to Vikhroli. The letter sent to Chief Minister, Home Minister, Director General of Police and Police Commissioner. Text of the letter sent is reproduced below: To Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister & Home Minister, Ma...

Dear Friends, As you are aware, we have made a huge difference by writing open letters in the past. In November 2017 , we wrote an  open letter to Chief Justice of Bombay High Court , signed by 55 Riyo victims in Borivali National Park. As a result, Justice Badar was restricted from hearing Bhagtani's ABA matter by an order that said, "Not before any bench of which Justice A.M. Badar is a part". In December 2017, we wrote an open l etter to Maharashtra CM  asking why Bhagtanis were still roaming free and enjoying life. This letter had physical signatures collected from 267 Bhagtani victims of different projects. Shortly afterwards, in January 2018, Diipesh Bhagtani was forced to surrender to EOW. Friends, it is time for us to fire again. This time, the open letter has to be about defective chargesheets that the police have filed for Riyo and Serenity , and other projects also.   Let us send this letter to CM, Minister of State for Home, Director Genera...

Mumbai, 4th October, 2018: Is the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police deliberately going easy on Bhagtanis? Are the forensic auditors and Forensic Science Laboratory going slow? Eyebrows must rise that EOW's chargesheets of  Bhagtani Riyo and Serenity ,  filed in April and August,   are against Diipesh Bhagtani, and not against JVPD Properties Pvt Ltd and its directors Mukesh and Lakshman Bhagtani.  Download Riyo FIR & Chargesheet  Download Serenity FIR & Chargesheet Regardless of whether it is proper or improper, omission from the chargesheet gives  Mukesh and Lakshman Bhagtani extra time to continue living abroad and doing hera-pheri . As long as they are considered only suspects, and not chargesheeted offenders, they remain safe from Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, Interpol Red Corner Notices, deportation to India, police interrogation and judicial custody.  Two things that EOW cops often tell victims:  (a) The...