Two sisters living in an upscale Lokhandwala society, which include telly stars, are asked to pack up because they are unmarriedu00a0

In what is indicative of a city's hostile attitude towards single working women, two sisters who have been living in an upscale housing society in Lokhandwala for the last six years, have been asked to vacate their apartment because they are not married. The sisters, Poonam Khinchi (30) and Seema Khinchi (34) were asked by the Greenville housing society last month to vacate their apartment, which consists of two flats. This, despite the fact that the sisters have the permission of the landlord, US-based Amit Chougule, to continue their stay.
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The sisters in their apartment. Pic/ Satyajit Desai

Poonam runs Rock On Adventure, which conducts adventure camps for children, and Seema Khinchi (34) works in an advertising agency. The society members include television actors Aamir Ali and Mauli Ganguly. The sisters were reportedly told that Greenville is a society meant only for families and not unmarried women. On Saturday, the sisters filed an FIR against the society members. "The alleged party has been charged with Section 504 and Section 506 for threatening and abusing the women. Necessary action will be taken," said a police official at Oshiwara Police Station.

According to their complaint, the sisters received a letter on May 1 from the society members asking them to vacate their apartment. When they defied the order, they were reportedly abused by the society members.
According to Pradeep Nair, the secretary of Greenville, he is friendly with the sisters, but cannot turn a blind eye towards the problems they cause. He said, "Foreigners would come and go from their apartment as late as two in the night," and went to the extent of stating that the flat looked like a brothel of sorts. "So the building members have decided to remove the girls," he said.

From July 2010 to March 2011, one of the sisters' flats was let out to three foreign models. The models worked in advertisements that were produced by Seema's agency, and according to the sisters, both the landlord and the society members had agreed to allow them to live in the society.

The woes of the Khinchi sisters apparently started when they got into an argument with Nargis Zafer, mother of TV star Ali and treasurer of the society. She reportedly yelled at Seema, when Chougule was unable attend a society meeting. "She accused us of bad behaviour and even made Seema cry," said Poonam, adding that Zafer has been nursing a grudge ever since.u00a0

According to the sisters, TV actress Ganguly too has been rude to them. "She does not even know us but has been accusing us of bad behaviour. It is a shame that something like this can happen in Mumbai," said Poonam Khinchi. However, Ali claims that the sisters are drumming up this issue to gain publicity. "The entire society works as a group and the decision has been taken jointly," said Ali, and added, "The society must have noticed something indecent about these girls."