Mumbai: Two more claim they were victims of man who allegedly conned property owners

Sharad Amritlal Rochlaney

In the wake of mid-day's report about the arrest of Sharad Amritlal Rochlaney, an alleged crook who conned property owners, two more people have come to the fore, claiming they had been cheated of lakhs by the accused. They stated that Rochlaney had been out of reach for the past few years.

Kishore Chaudhari, a developer who also has a retail supermarket business in Dubai and is currently living in Nahar, Sakinaka, told mid-day, "I came to contact with Rochlaney around 2012 through a common friend. He duped me of more than Rs 50 lakh between 2014 and 2016. I had given the money to Rochlaney but he was unable to return the amount. I waited for months. Finally, he agreed to give me property, at Vikramgarh in Palghar district. After seeing the documents, it appeared that the property belonged to someone else and it was mortgaged at that."

He added, "I published notices in various papers regarding the purchase of the accused's Vikramgarh property and found that it belonged to someone other and was mortgaged. Rochlaney could not be traced and all of his relatives' mobile numbers that he shared with me were non-functional." He added, "Now he has been arrested by the police. I am also going to lodge a complaint. I have come to know that there are many others who have been duped by the accused."

Also Read: Mumbai: Crook who conned property owners held

The other alleged victim, M S Suri, told mid-day that Rochlaney duped him of an undisclosed amount of money. Suri claimed that he used to export fabrics to Dubai via Rochlaney's firm, Ramka Silk House. He stated that he was approached by the accused to invest in a Borivali-based co-operative bank, Sanathan Sanstha Bank, in which Rochlaney and his wife were directors along with one Anil Singh.

According to Suri, Rochlaney offered him interest higher than two per cent per annum, but after collecting his money, he kept delaying handing over receipts. Later on, after Suri demanded that his money be returned, Rochlaney allegedly informed him that the bank had failed and that he would return the money.

Rochlaney allegedly then started offering Suri plots in Lonavala and Shahpur and emailed their details, but the papers were found to be bogus. "I approached the Bandra police station in 2018 and Rochlaney agreed to return the entire amount within a week but he vanished without a trace and his family feigned total ignorance. In, 2019 news surfaced that Rochlaney had been arrested in Myanmar on criminal charges," Suri alleged.

Accused's wife speaks

Kanchan Rochlaney, the accused's wife, said, "The matter is sub judice. In fact, we are victims of one of the nationalised banks and we have filed cases [criminal writ petitions] against the bank and its officers. Manohar [a complainant] should show which property he owned and whether he sold it to us."

"The Vasai's complainant has joined hands with the main accused and submitted a letter to the bank to continue her loan after she filed her complaint. She also went to Arnala police station and threatened to have my husband killed inside the jail," said Kanchan. Alleging a conspiracy, she said, "The matter is of 2014-15 yet the FIR was lodged n 2023."

She further alleged, "The investigating officer has registered FIR without checking documents. In fact, action should be taken against the investigating officer and the complainant for malicious prosecution and unlawful confinement. No summons was issued and no calls were made. They directly arrested my husband."

Rs 50L
Amount Kishore Chaudhari claims he was duped of