Nurse got flat in Mumbai via Mhada lottery but only learnt about it 14 years later
Meenakshi Jadhav-Sawant was shocked to learn that an agent she trusted had cheated her by taking over her flat, renting it out for years, and then selling it – all without her knowledge. The agent has now been booked.
4 min read
Meenakshi Jadhav-Sawant (42), who works as a nurse in a private hospital, had applied for a Mhada flat in February 2009 under the Scheduled Tribe category. (File photo) Winning a Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) lottery in Mumbai is a dream for many who wish to own a house in the city. A nurse from Virar, however, could not cash in on her luck, thanks to an agent who defrauded her by keeping her in the dark for 14 years and milked money by fraudulently usurping her flat and later renting it out to different people. The nurse has now filed a police complaint against the agent.
Meenakshi Jadhav-Sawant (42), who works as a nurse in a private hospital, had applied for a Mhada flat in February 2009 under the Scheduled Tribe category. In May 2009, she won the lottery. As she had applied under the caste quota, she had to submit a caste certificate, her complaint says.
She visited the Borivali tehsildar’s office to get the certificate, and during this time, she came in contact with the accused, Sunil Jangapalle (56), who helped her get the caste certificate. Jangapalle won her trust and even accompanied her to the Mhada office to submit the caste certificate and other documents, the police said.
However, later, Jangapalle informed her that she was disqualified and her file was closed by Mhada as she did not submit the caste verification certificate required to get possession of the house, the FIR states. Jadhav, then unmarried, asked Jangapalle to pursue the matter as she trusted him and handed over all her documents to him.
Later, in 2014, she got married and stopped following up the matter with Jangapalle. Around the same time, her parents inquired at the Thane office of the concerned government department and learnt that Jangapalle had collected the caste verification certificate on their behalf. The family got the certificate from Jangapalle, not realising that they had been duped.
Recently, Jadhav called Jangapalle for some work and the duo met at Shailendra Nagar in Dahisar. When Jadhav reached the area, she happened to meet the secretary and president of a Mhada building’s housing society, who informed her that there was a flat in her name on the seventh floor of their building.
She was also informed that Jangapalle had told society members that he was her relative. He had allegedly been renting out the said flat to different people for 13 years and pocketing the money.
When a shocked Jadhav confronted Jangapalle, he told her to pay Rs 35 lakh and take possession of the flat, her complaint to the police states. Jadhav then obtained the flat’s sale agreement, affidavit, and power of attorney submitted by Jangapalle, and all these documents turned out to be bogus. On the basis of these documents, Jangapalle had allegedly sold the flat to one Kishore More for Rs 35 lakh in 2022.
When Jadhav approached More and asked him to vacate the flat, he refused, a police officer said. Jadhav then approached the Dahisar police and filed a complaint against Jangapalle.
On October 30, Jangapalle was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating, forgery and falsification of documents. The police are investigating the matter.
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