They promised the Taj, but they have delivered a whooper of a scandal. Taj Exhibits employed a host of professionals — from labourers to outdoor advertisers — to recreate the Taj Mahal at the K.J. Somaiya ground. But when Zahid Siddiqui, the managing director of Taj Exhibits, fled Mumbai on Wednesday with Hasan Ali, his company’s chairman, and cronies Naeem, Guddu, Furkan and Shoeb, he made a lot of dreams come crashing down.After Siddiqui’s flight, Aruna Sharma, claiming to be a raakhi sister of Hasan Ali, stepped in. After reassuring the peeved contractors, she and husband Pankaj Sharma (both residents of Andheri) made a quick buck by selling the counter tickets at Rs 50 (at a discount of Rs 20). On Saturday, the couple flew the coop. Ruby Agarwal of Benefit Barter told The Indian Express that Taj Exhibits had to pay her Rs 40 lakh. She was part of the large group of people who were making rounds of the Wadala Truck Terminus and Vile Parle police stations on Monday. ‘‘The Wadala station keeps saying the Somaiya ground is not in their jurisdiction,’’ she says. Initially, this case was registered with Wadala Truck Terminus police but the Vile Parle police are now investigating it as the office of the accused falls under their jurisdiction. ‘‘Investigations are on,’’ said Senior Inspector Damodar Shinde. The complaint has been registered by Rajesh Verma from R.M. Bhatter.‘‘All of Siddiqui’s cheques have been dishonoured, and the company owes me Rs 65 lakh,’’ says Verma. Chirag Pandya of Digital Smith, the group that did the digital printing for the company, told Express: ‘‘I’ll have to look for another job now. I’ve lost 11 lakh.’’Even the labourers were not spared. Ranjana Haridahare, who worked on the fountain, is waiting for her Rs 15,000. ‘‘My husband is physically challenged, I had to postpone my son’s eye operation,’’ she says. Electrician Mohammed Shafi, who was promised Rs 400 a day, says: ‘‘We want our money back.’’ ‘‘They didn’t even pay sweepers,’’ says Ajay Dholakia, a contractor.Now, the attractive replica of the Taj is the centre of controversy. The Somaiya Trust wants it intact, while contractors want to demolish it to recover their material.
