Khar land grab case: Duo was hotel hopping to evade arrest, say police

The Khar police arrested the land sharks who illegally grabbed the multicrore bungalow of a woman in Khar from Goa on Sunday night They had filed an FIR against the accused Clarence Pereira alias Peter and Nilima Deshmukh only after middayrsquos persistent reports since November Next they are expected to take custody of the property The duo had been hopping from one hotel to another in Goa after the Khar police registered the FIR to evade arrestPolice said they will now record the statement of the Thane Mental Hospitalrsquos staff and examine if they were involved in the release of Marietta Fernandes and in handing over her custody to accused PeterNilima Deshmukh another accused in the caseThe arrestOn January 31 Khar police registered an FIR against Peter and Deshmukh and learnt that they were both living in Bandstand Bandra and started locating them As per the law police canrsquot arrest the accused before 72 hours of registering the FIR Six teams of Khar police were formed to follow them in plainclothesOn February 3 as the 72 hours ended both the accused escaped from Bandra and hid at a Goa guest house They frequently changed the hotels to avoid arrestpolice saidThe bungalow of Marietta Fernandes at Chuim Village in Khar File picPolice had also found that Peter had applied for anticipatory bail at sessions court in Dindoshi in November but it wasnrsquot granted On February 5 Peter again applied for anticipatory bail at Dindoshi sessions court and the hearing was scheduled for Monday However Khar police arrested the duo from Labamba Guest house at Calangute Goa before the court hearingThe Khar police and Calangute police arrested them They were brought to Mumbai on Monday morning and produced before the Bandra holiday court which sent the duo to police custody till February 10Senior Inspector Mohan Mane said ldquoMarietta gave her complaint in November to Khar police station and demanded justice in the case of her ancestral multicrore bungalow at Chuim Village in Khar Danda We started an indepth inquiry and found that her bungalow had been grabbed by Peter and Deshmukh and they were also involved in releasing her from Thane Mental Hospital We took DCP Manjunath Singersquos permission and registered the FIR on January 31rdquoldquoPolice Inspector PI Sandip Patil and other cops had followed them around Goa hotels and found that they were changing hotels dailyrdquo Mane saidldquoNow we are checking the involvement of Thane Mental Hospital and others in this case The hospital staffrsquos statement will be recorded and if we find any involvement we will arrest themWe also found that Peterrsquos daughter visited the Khar bungalow daily We will take action against more people in this case We will also file a notice under Section 145 CrPC through the ACP to take the bungalow in our possession It will be handed over to its rightful owner Now we are scanning all the documents that Peter forged to grab the bungalowrdquo Mane addedldquoThe policersquos action against the accused has given us hope that the wrong done will be correctedrdquo said Cornel Mariettarsquos brotherinlawLand grab timelineMarch 26 2020 Mariettarsquos mother Yvonne Fernandes dies at the Khar BungalowNovember 20 2020 Police find the skeleton of Yvonne Fernandes in the bungalowNovember 27 2020 Khar police admit Marietta Fernandes to Thane Mental HospitalApril 29 2021 Peter accused in the case discharges Marietta from the hospital by posing as Mariettarsquos uncleThe same day Peter takes Marietta to the TDR building at Bahar Signal Pasiwada Andheri along with his friend Nilima Deshmukh and his daughter Racheal PereiraMay 22 2021 Peter takes Marietta to Khar police station to take the bungalow back in Mariettarsquos possession He promises to help her get back the bungalow which is sealed by the Khar policeMay 25 2021 Khar police give the bungalow keys to Marietta in the presence of Peter who tells cops that he is a caretakerOn the same day Peter takes bungalow keys from Marietta on the pretext of cleaning it Later Peter along with Nilima Deshmukh steal a television refrigerator gold property documents and other valuables collectively worth R20 lakh from the bungalowSeptember 16 2021 The room agreement gets expired and Marietta is shifted to Nilimarsquos sister Nainarsquos residence for three daysSeptember 19 2021 Peter takes Marietta to his cousinrsquos wife Elvy Pereirarsquos residence at Sahar Village Vile Parle EastSeptember 24 2021 Marietta is taken to a hotel and Peter forcefully makes her sign documents However Marietta gives false signatures on documentsThe same day Peter tries pushing Marietta from a running auto but she is savedJanuary 1 2022 Khar police register FIR against Peter and coaccused Nilima DeshmukhFebruary 6 2022 Peter and Deshmukh are arrested at a hotel in Goa hotelFebruary 7 2022 Police get them to Mumbai and produce them before a holiday court They are remanded in police custody till February 10