Two Mumbai businessman in dispute over Lonavala property worth Rs 50 crore

Local Press Co 5-point Snippet

1. Two Mumbai-based businessmen are involved in a heated battle over the ownership of a 25-acre plot worth more than Rs 50 crores located at Lonavala. The two are accusing each other of cheating, illegal sale, forceful possession, gunfire and have also filed FIRs against each other.

2. Aneel Vadgama, who heads Aron Realty, claims he had bought the piece of land back in 2000 from one Laxmi Prasad Singhania. He states that when real estate prices shot up eight years later, Singhania re-sold the property to Bandra developer, Shobit Rajan in an illegal deal.

3. In his court complaint, Vadgama alleged that over 100 men hired by Rajan stormed onto the property, assaulted his staff, fired guns and then took control of the place, driving everyone out on January 19. Post the incident he filed an FIR at the Lonavala police station but they did not take any action.

4. Rajan, on the other hand, has refuted all of Vadgama’s accusations, stating that his company had purchased the property through a registered agreement dated May 23, 2008, and it has been in possession with the company’s security since then. Rajan’s legal team also revealed that in 2013, Rajan filed an FIR against the businessman for trespassing and criminal intimidation following which Vadgama was arrested.

5. A Pune Court found no evidence supporting Vadgama’s argument and an official from the court told the press, “Vadgama claims to have purchased the land and has filed the matter in courts by producing an allegedly forged power of attorney granted by the erstwhile owner LP Singhania to Vadgama’s brother-in-law, Harish Vaghadia. Singhania has challenged the power of attorney as forged, and the critical issue is that Singhania did not own the plot when Vadgama claims to have purchased it vide the power of attorney.”