Mumbai Crime: Infamous con artist now trying to cheat 65-year-old man

Con artist Clarence Pereira who was arrested by the Khar police last year after midday exposed him for trying to grab the bungalow of an elderly woman in Chuim village at Khar is back to his old tricks This time he has targeted an elderly man Bharat Patel from Andheri trying to usurp his twobedroom flatAfter taking a flat on rent Clarence Pereira apparently forged the documents of the apartment located on Sahar Road and stopped paying rent in August Later when the flat owner started to send legal notices to vacate the flat for nonpayment of rent Clarence approached the Andheri police playing the victim cardldquoClarence has told the police that he had bought the flat for R45 lakh in cash and had additionally issued a cheque worth Rs 50 lakh But I am still the legal custodian of the flat as I have not sold it to anyone yet Above all Clarence is lying and has not paid me a single penny to buy the flatrdquo Bharat told midday He finally approached the Andheri police station where the cops registered a NonCognisable Offence NC report on WednesdayClarence Pereira with his wife Nancy File picPatel 65 had rented out his 2BHK flat in Andheri East to Raphael 31 the son of Clarence in February 2023 ldquoRaphael approached me through a property agent for the flat He had told me he runs a tour and travel business After preparing all the documents I rented out the flat to him in February 2023rdquo said Vipin Bharatrsquos sonMeanwhile the Patel family had decided to sell the property for which many buyers would visit the flat even after the Pereiras had shifted ldquoWhenever any potential buyer would visit the flat Clarence would spread a rumour that he has bought the flat He started this in March 2023 and it was shocking for merdquo said BharatRefusal to vacateldquoWhen he stopped paying the rent and we learnt that the Pereiras were trying to usurp the flat I sent him a notice Raphael signed the document agreeing to vacate it by September 15 But he kept on extending the deadlinerdquo Vipin addedldquoOn October 3 I went there to get back the keys to my flat but the Pereiras requested that we wait till October 5 We have given the flat on rent to Raphael yet his father Clarence always intervenes and has been making our life difficult When we asked them to vacate the flat Clarence bought time for one more day and promised to vacate the flat at 6 pm on October 6rdquo Vipin said He added that they saw the Pereira family packing their bags on the evening of October 6 but soon after they received a call from a police officer Ankush Rathod asking his father Bharat to visit Andheri police stationClaims of ownershipAt the police station Bharat was told by the police officer not to visit the flat the Pereira family was residing in ldquoClarence has given a complaint at Andheri police station accusing us of harassing him and his family But we are the victims here Now this police officer Rathod has told me not to visit my own flat which the Pereiras are trying to usurprdquo Vipin saidThe Patel family waited for a few days but seeing no other way forward Bharat approached the Andheri police on Wednesday and submitted a complaint explaining how he had been cheated by the con artist ldquoBut the cops filed an NC in this matter and told us to wait till Rathod resumes duty as the officer is on leaverdquo Vipin saidWhen contacted Rathod said ldquoWe have received a complaint from the Pereiras against Patel I was working on the issue but had to take leave on an urgent basis I am checking the veracity of allegations made by Pereira and till the time I was in office the Patel family had not submitted any complaintrdquoWhen contacted Clarence told midday that he had all the relevant documents to prove that he had bought the flat from Patel ldquoAfter purchasing the flat I got it renovated and spent a huge sum of money Why will a tenant spend lakhs of rupees to renovate a rented flat I have all the documents to prove that the flat belongs to usrdquo Clarence said on Tuesday ldquoI can produce the documents related to the samerdquo he addedNo documents producedOn Wednesday the Pereiras visited the midday office but failed to produce any documents related to the issue and instead requested the correspondent not to publish the article ldquoWhy do you want to publish the story when I have already purchased the flat I live with my loyal family peacefullyrdquo said Clarence who was flanked by his son Sam and daughter RachelleClarence has a criminal record and was arrested by the Bandra and Khar police for cheating and sexual abuse cases against him ldquoI was falsely implicated in the cases Above all I have won the rape case against me and I am still fighting the case by Khar police where a woman registered an FIR against me in January 2022 I own the bungalow in Kharrsquos Chuim village for which I was arrested for cheating the woman who was admitted to Thane Mental Hospital But I got her discharged from the hospital and took care of herrdquo Pereira addedLawyer speaksCriminal lawyer Trivankumar Karnani said ldquoIf a tenant refuses to vacate a flat rented on a lease amp licence agreement upon receiving a prior eviction notice from the landlord and then the tenant claims to have purchased the flat the act prima facie discloses the commission of cognisable offences under Sections 406 amp 420 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 The local police must register an FIR and summon the accused under Section 91 of the criminal procedure code to ascertain if there is a sale deed and other relevant documents and whether they are forged or genuinerdquoAccording to Karnani the office bearers of the society should also be summoned as prosecution witnesses to ascertain whether the claims made by the tenant are true as there are a lot of formalities which have to be completed by the office bearers of a housing society at the time of transferring ownership of a flat ldquoHence only a fullfledged police investigation will help ascertain the truth considering the criminal history and previous conduct of the accused who indulged in land grabbingrdquo he saidFeb 2023Month flat was rented out to the PereirasAug 2023Month Pereiras stopped paying house rent