Case filed in Kalyan over alleged Rs 176 crore fraud in Chikhalghar redevelopment project

A case has been registered at Khadakpada police station over alleged fraud of more than Rs 176 crore in the Tycoon Gold Avenue redevelopment project in Chikhalghar, Kalyan West. The case names developer Shrikant Shitole, Chetan Saraf, Mahesh Gosavi and other people concerned. The complainants allege that large sums were collected from 184 members of the Shantidoot Cooperative Housing Society and hundreds of flat buyers, but possession of flats was given to no one. Shitole has denied all the allegations and called the claim of a Rs 176 crore scam false.

According to the complaint, the redevelopment of the Shantidoot Cooperative Housing Society in Chikhalghar was entrusted to Tycoon Avanti Projects LLP. Complainant Nanda Prabhakar Mhatre stated in the complaint that she bought a flat in 2021 by paying about Rs 39 lakh. Under the agreement she was to get possession by July 2025. She claims she has not received it so far.

The complainants say the project building has been built only up to the tenth floor and that work has been completely halted since 2022. The complaint alleges that the developers took large sums from flat buyers and yet not a single buyer was given possession. Another serious allegation is that the society's land was mortgaged to a bank using a power of attorney. The complainants claim that more than Rs 176 crore was taken in all from the society's 184 members and hundreds of flat buyers.

The case has been registered under Sections 318(4), 316(2) and 3(5) of the BNS. The investigation is being carried out under the guidance of Police Inspector Premnath Shete Dhole. Police are examining the money taken from flat buyers, the financial transactions and the allegation of the land being mortgaged.

The Tycoons group has rejected all the allegations. The group says the complainant had booked a residential flat worth about Rs 40 lakh in the project and that the claim of a Rs 176 crore scam is entirely wrong. According to the group, MHADA projects in Chikhalghar are running very late because of policy shortcomings, which has caused the group financial strain. This, it says, is why there was a delay in handing over homes to customers. The group has also said the project is registered with the RERA authority and customers should therefore take their complaints to it.

The Tycoons group has further alleged that some local opponents and leaders in Kalyan are exploiting the project's difficulties to get cases filed against the developers. It alleges that Girish Pawar, Narendra Pawar and some associates conspired to harass the group and seize the project. The group claims the project has received final approval from the Centre for funding, yet some people are opposing it with the help of some customers. According to the group, the case is being used to pressure Shitole and to take over the project through negotiation. The group says it has firm evidence about these allegations.

The group has made it clear that it will cooperate fully with the police investigation. It says the case should not affect work on the project and that efforts to complete it in the interest of all flat owners and customers will continue. The police investigation is under way. The truth of the matter will become clear only after the transactions behind the fraud allegations, the present condition of the project, the documents on the land mortgage and the money taken from flat buyers are examined.