Owner sells flat in Kandivli attached by I-T dept to couple

The accused had claimed the flat did not have any pending payments. Representation pic

A school teacher and her husband were cheated of Rs 80 lakh by a flat owner who sold them an apartment in Kandivli which was already attached by the Income Tax Department. The complainant, Deepali More, found out about it when she approached the housing society to get a no objection certificate. Samta Nagar police have registered a case and booked the flat owner as well as the real estate agent who introduced the complainant with the accused.

More used to live with her husband and 18-year-old daughter in Mira Road and was planning to buy a flat in Kandivli for her daughter's higher studies. More had, in 2018, sold her Mira Road flat for Rs 67 lakh and was hunting for apartments in Kandivli when Rajiv Mishra, a real estate agent, approached her. Mishra then showed the Mores a 1BHK flat in Thakur Village, Kandivli East that belonged to Sanjeev Pradhan.

After the couple checked out the flat and met Pradhan, they made a deal for a total of Rs 1.14 crore. Pradhan told them he has a hotel business and more properties in Mumbai. He also claimed that all his properties were clean and all the requisite payments were done. After this Mores paid R80 lakh and signed the agreement and completed registration for the flat.

However, when the family decided to move to that flat, they found out from the society office that the flat was attached by the Income Tax Department in 2014 due to non-payment of tax. The couple then approached Pradhan and sought their money back, but the accused refused and threatened them. Following this, the couple approached the police.

"We have registered a case under sections 426, 420, 504, 506, 120(B) and 34 of the IPC for mischief, cheating, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy and common intention and have booked Rajiv Pradhan, Rashmi Pradhan (flat owners) and the agent Rajiv Mishra. We are investigating further," said a police officer from Samta Nagar police station.

Rs 1.1 cr
Price of the Kandivli flat