Kalina land-grabbing case: Insider nailed, but bungalow owner still out

Even as the Vakola police arrested the main accused in the Kalina land grabbing case who was later released on bail 68yearold Roque DrsquoSouza is yet to get possession of his bungalow When the police sought custody of the multicrore bungalow in Santacruz East which has been mired in a legal case since 2019 with DrsquoSouza claiming that it was illegally grabbed by his brother Joseph and other accused they found that the property is already involved in another caseDrsquoSouza said ldquoI donrsquot have any money in my pocket and I am still running from pillar to post to get my bungalow back I am also staying with my relatives and friends for a few days It is too painful at this age I am struggling for my own propertyrdquo The case came to fore in 2019 when DrsquoSouza was in prison for allegedly killing his wife He learnt that someone had taken over the property and filed a complaint with the Vakola policePolice then launched a probe and found that the 6500sq ft bungalow was grabbed by Joseph and two othersmdashAbid Ali Mushtaque Tanaji and Prem Chandran Cops in 2019 arrested both Tanaji and Chandran who were later released on bail while Joseph was absconding DrsquoSouzarsquos family members had also alleged the involvement of Senior Inspector Kailashchandra Awhad from Vakola police station in helping Tanaji grab the landA view of Roque DrsquoSouzarsquos bungalow in Kalina SantacruzHowever when DrsquoSouza was acquitted of murdering his wife in January this year he found Tanaji had again taken over the bungalow A police officer said ldquoAfter DSouza was released from jail he had gone to his home and found that the accused Tanaji had again grabbed itrdquoDrsquoSouza again informed the cops following which police sought documents from Tanaji The accused then submitted three documents all of which were found fake upon verification Meanwhile cops finally traced and arrested Joseph from Bengaluru on March 5 and brought him to MumbaiAn officer from Vakola police station said ldquoWe reinvestigated this matter and found that the accused Joseph was absconding in the case and we traced him from Bangalore We arrested the accused Joseph Drsquosouza on March 5 and after 1516 days he was released on bail of Rs 50000 Joseph didnrsquot even have to pay the bail amount himself as the other accused Tanaji helped him He has even taken Joseph into the Kalina bungalowrdquo The police are in the process of filing a charge sheet in the case ldquoWe found that earlier Tanaji had offered Rs 2 crore to Joseph Drsquosouza for help in grabbing the land However Tanaji only gave him R72000 till nowrdquo said another officerFake documentsOf the three documents Tanaji submitted one was a sale deed one was a conveyance deed and the other was a gift deed As per the sale deed Brazil Policrap Anacatius who resided on this plot before 1952 sold the property to Ebrahim Rajan Meghoji on April 18 1951 The conveyance deed dated April 3 1980 was between Ebrahim Rajan Meghoji and Tanajirsquos father Mushtaque Tanaji And lastly the gift deed mentioned that Mushtaque Tanaji handed over the property to his son in 1999 The police found all of them to be fakeDrsquoSouza with police personnel outside the bungalow in JanuaryThe other property disputeAs per DrsquoSouza after Anacatius left the property came into the possession of his father Louis DrsquoSouza who registered the property in his own name in 1952 after the then government ruled that people can stake claim to the property they are residing in He said the property which has three shops and one small house is still in his fatherrsquos nameDrsquoSouza had rented out the small house to someone who allegedly left the city Meanwhile another man who was employed for renovation work grabbed hold of the room in the absence of DrsquoSouza and filed a case before Dindoshi court staking claim As this case is still pending before the court the Vakola police cannot take it into custody ldquoWe applied for custody of the bungalow under Section 145 of CrPC but the court rejected it because of a suit filed by a tenant who was living at this placerdquo a cop saidMarch 5Day accused Joseph DrsquoSouza was arrested2019Year when the case came to the fore