Builders flee court after being sentenced to judicial custody

Two of the six builders involved in the controversial construction of the Navi Mumbai high-rise Green Heritage, fled from the court soon after the magistrate sentenced them to judicial custody yesterday. Vijay Rajiv Gajara and Dinesh Keshavji Patel, along with their four business partners, have been accused of breaching construction norms while building the 21-storey tower on plot no 79 and 80 in Kharghar, which was touted as the Jewel of Kharghar.

Tower of controversy: Ironically, the 21-storey Green Heritage, which had been touted as the Jewel of Kharghar, is now stuck in the quagmire of corruption. file pic

Following the controversy, the CBD Belapur police had registered an FIR against the developers and had even issued look-out notices for the six partners of Abhishek Builders and Developers - Vijay Ravji Gajara, Dinesh Keshavji Patel, Gangaji Kalyanji Bhanushali, Karman Raghu Patel, Sohel Navin Gala and Sunil Keshavji Gala.

It was only after several follow-ups by the court and the local police that the accused appeared before the local Belapur Court yesterday. "Soon after the magistrate announced judicial custody for the accused, two of them (Gajara and Patel) fled the court. After looking out for them till late night, an FIR was registered against them at the CBD police station," confirmed inspector Ahmed Pathan of Nerul police station. Pathan is investigating the fraud case against the builders. Gajara and Patel have been booked under Section 224 (resistance or obstruction by a person to his lawful apprehension) of the Indian Penal Code.

In the past, the cops had alerted all airports and border checkpoints to prevent the accused from fleeing the country. All the six accused had approached the Raigad Sessions Court in the past, seeking anticipatory bail, which was turned down by the Additional Sessions Judge, Dr Yashwant G Chaware.

Last December, acting on Bombay High Court's directive, the Kharghar police lodged an FIR against DCP Dattatray Shinde (Navi Mumbai), top CIDCO and MSEB officials and Abhishek Builders and Developers, under several sections of the IPC. The scam was brought to the fore after real estate agent Pramod Mittal filed a petition in the High Court.

Illegal Heights
On June 15, 2006, CIDCO granted permission to construct 8,588.200 sq m (for residential built-up area) and 1,506.655 sq m (for commercial built-up area). Accordingly, 97 residential flats, 20 commercial flats and two office units could be built on the land. But the accused allegedly stole additional FSI, and went on to construct 150 flats, 38 commercial flats and four office units. The total construction spans 1,575.618 sq m. It is alleged that the accused have earned crores illegally, forging documents in collusion with CIDCO officers. u00a0