Victims are about to get fooled by Bhagtanis again

Mumbai, 31st March, 2018: The Bhagtani family and their henchmen have in-depth understanding of the flaws in our psychology, such as (1) financial illiteracy (2) blind trust in builders (3) habitual distrust of authorities including police (4) reluctance to go to court (5) penny-wise pound-foolishness (6) tendency for needless arguments, gossip-mongering and petty politics (7) herd mentality. Bhagtanis have a decade of experience in exploiting these weaknesses and repeatedly milking the same people over and over again. Bhagtanis have unfailingly made flat-buyers sign legal paperwork that is against their own interests, and make terrible choices that make them feel good in the short run and make them poorer in the long run.

Just because Mukesh and Lakshman Bhagtani are absconding and their office is closed, people wrongly believe that Bhagtanis are no longer active. A small and determined band of Bhagtani henchmen are still active, busily laying out their nets for catching their old victims unawares yet again. They know that some people never learn from their mistakes.

Playing on the victims' psychological need for safety in numbers and their urge to feel reassured that all will be well, Bhagtani henchmen are holding meetings and forming associations. The plan is (a) to take the victims' signatures on papers that will weaken the cases against Bhagtanis (b) to take lakhs of rupees from people who have already been fooled, based on false assurances. 

Yes, some genuine people are also making a push for forming associations. The line of distinction between the two is that genuine people are keeping expectations realistic, whereas Bhagtani henchmen are painting a rosy and unrealistic picture of the future!

How many times have Bhagtanis have fooled people?

• First time. Bhagtanis fooled 2,500 people by getting them to book flats in Riyo, Sapphire, Serenity and Savannah, quoting prices well below the market rate, and further slashing rates for paying 30, 50, 70 or even 100% of the consideration amount up front, without any scrutiny, security or legal paperwork! Bhagtanis gave people an allotment letter full of fraudulent clauses that deprived them of their remedies. Read this consumer court judgment to understand how such wordings harmed the case of the victims.

• Second. Those who wanted their money back were fooled into signing the "cancellation deed", returning their allotment letters and receipts, surrendering their right to a flat and accepting long-term post-dated cheques that would inevitably bounce.

• Third time. Bhagtanis many victims into keeping quiet even after they came to know about the scam, by quoting lock-in periods mentioned in clause nos 11 and 16 of the allotment letter. Many Bhagtani victims are still holding their breath because they are waiting for the lock-in period of 18 months or 24 months to get over!

• Fourth. Although almost all the cheques bounced, only a tiny percentage of people filed cheque-bouncing cases. Bhagtanis fooled most people into returning their bounced cheques in return for more post-dated cheques, credit-notes and false promises.

• Fifth time. Bhagtanis convinced many victims to opt for transfer option i.e. "transfering their investment" to Shubh Atika of Ravi Group, Forresta of Oyster Living, etc. In this way, victims were fooled into coughing up even more money, and also giving a clean chit to the Bhagtanis.

• Sixth. A majority of victims keep getting false assurances and subtle threats from Mukesh and Lakshman Bhagtani and their henchmen. They are still hesitant to approach EOW to register an FIR, in the fear that if they complain, Bhagtani will not return their money. Who will explain to the victims that Bhagtanis will not repay their money anyway?

• Seventh time. Bhagtanis made false and misleading declarations before MahaRERA, regarding Serenity, Krishaang, Elegance and Pearl 2, to create the illusion that they were legitimate builders.

• Eighth. Diipesh Bhagtani fooled the judiciary by filing false affidavits saying that he would soon deposit Rs 22 crore for refunding complainants and intervenors, and claiming that he was director in only three entities viz. JVPD Properties Pvt Ltd, MD Devcon Pvt Ltd and Jaycee Construction Co. Bhagtanis' lawyers kept the courts ignorant of the fact that Mukesh and Lakshman had already fled the country!

• Ninth time. Diipesh Bhagtani fooled hundreds of victims and their lawyers to sign a "settlement" on 16th December that gave him six months time to sell everything and run away. He nearly succeeded in getting away with it!

And yes, Bhagtanis will fool many of their victims (and the Indian legal system too) a tenth, eleventh and twelfth time! They are following well-established principles of psychology! Bhagtani victims keep falling victim to "groupthink"; it happened before, it still happens now. 

A very large majority of Bhagtani's 2,500 victims continue to nurture hopes that they are merely "passing through a bad period". They have hopes that, even if most people don't get repaid, they will be among the select group whom Bhagtanis will choose to repay. They don't understand the tough choices for fighting  for their own money. They have a sense of entitlement; they believe that the Indian powers-that-be owe it to them to somehow catch the crooks and recover their money, and refund the entire principal amount with interest and even compensation!

People cannot mentally process their current situation. They aren't able to comprehend the cross-currents of the present situation. They aren't asking the right questions. And because of this, a new tragedy is unfolding.

This atmosphere of financial and legal illiteracy makes people easy prey for Bhagtani's gang members, who have great experience of fishing in troubled waters. So many victims will get fooled again and again... and yet again. Instead of using their money to give a tough fight in courts, many people will end up giving lakhs of rupees to Bhagtani in return for empty dreams. It's a tragedy, an endless, repetitive tragedy.

ISSUED IN PUBLIC INTEREST BY
Krishnaraj Rao
9821588114
krish.kkphoto@gmail.com