Barely had Sandeep Kurhade dug in his heels outside former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s residence on Perry Cross in Bandra West that a posse of policemen swooped down and hauled him away
Barely had Sandeep Kurhade dug in his heels outside former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s residence on Perry Cross in Bandra West that a posse of policemen swooped down and hauled him away. The 33-year-old Pune resident, who allegedly lost his land to his uncle and a renowned real estate firm Amit Enterprises, was arrested, along with RTI activist Shreejit Rameshan and friend Santosh Kumar, 10-15 minutes after he began his planned hunger strike outside the Master Blaster’s house on Wednesday in an effort to draw attention to his plight.
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Sandeep Kurhade begins his hunger stir outside former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s house yesterday
Tendulkar was the former brand ambassador of Amit Enterprises.
The three have been arrested under Section 151 (3) (arrest to prevent the commission of cognisable offences) of the CrPC and were released on bail after they gave an undertaking to the court that they would not go on any future hunger strike outside Tendulkar’s house.
He was arrested 10-15 minutes later, along with two aides. They were released on bail later in the day. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
Last week, Kurhade, a laboratory technician, had informed the Bandra police about his hunger strike plan. The police responded to this with a notice, stating that he had not taken prior permission from them for any such protest, and, hence, it would be unlawful.
Minor blip in plan
Despite the hitch, a defiant Kurhade clung onto the hope for justice. “I still have hopes of Sachin intervening on my behalf, and will again stage a protest outside his house soon. Policemen have assured us that they have sent my case file to Sachin’s residence so that the former cricketer will get a clear idea of the injustice done to me,” he said.
Kurhade has alleged that Amit Enterprises, run by the Pate family, with the connivance of his uncle, Shivaji Pinjan, paid him just Rs 20 lakh four years ago for an ancestral land in Ambegaon, Budruk, Pune, reportedly worth R2 crore. Pinjan was allegedly given R1.30 crore by Pate for his share in the property. He had hoped that Tendulkar would be moved by his plight and take up his case with Amit Enterprises.
However, Rohan Pate of Amit Enterprises had trashed the land grab allegation and claimed that the Kurhade family was trying extorting money from the firm.
His legal consultant Amit Duvekar had said Ranjana, Kurhade’s mother, had transferred all her rights to the land to her brother, Pinjan, and that the firm had bought the land from him.