EOW Probes Rs 42.96 Crore Redevelopment Fraud at Chinchpokli Society
The Mumbai police have registered an FIR against Siddhivinayak Construction Pvt. Ltd., its three directors, nine financial institutions, and 13 flat purchasers for allegedly cheating a housing society and its tenants of Rs 42.96 crore in a redevelopment project at Chinchpokli (East).
The complaint was filed by Pradeep Shivram Sawant, 55, secretary of the Shrimotanka Tenants Co-operative Housing Society on Dattaram Lad Marg. Sawant approached the Mazgaon Metropolitan Magistrate's Court under Section 175(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita following directions from the Bombay High Court. The court directed the Kalachowki police to register the offence, and the case was subsequently transferred to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for a detailed probe.
The redevelopment project involves four old buildings on Dattaram Lad Marg—Shrikrishna Niwas, Mogre House, Tambawala Building, and Kashinath Niwas—comprising 126 residential tenants and 25 commercial occupants. Siddhivinayak Construction submitted a proposal under DCR 33(7) in 2002 and executed a development agreement on July 22, 2007, promising to construct 126 residential rehabilitation units, 25 commercial units, and 51 sale units.
According to the FIR, the builder completed construction in 2017 and handed over possession to 139 of 144 eligible tenants without obtaining the mandatory Occupation Certificate, while five members are yet to receive possession. The developer allegedly sold 33 rehabilitation flats and three reserve units meant for existing tenants to third parties without consent, mortgaging them to nine financial institutions to secure loans totaling Rs 37.80 crore.
The complaint further alleges that the developer failed to pay Rs 2.80 crore in transit rent between 2014 and 2017 and left Rs 2.36 crore in unpaid municipal property taxes, water charges, and assessment dues, forcing society members to clear the outstanding amounts to avoid BMC action. Additionally, the company executed double registrations for six flats and obtained FSI and TDR benefits worth nearly Rs 15 crore, which it was attempting to sell after municipal approval on September 24, 2025.
The accused named in the case include developer directors Sachin Madhukar Khanolkar, Bindiya Sachin Khanolkar, and Abhijit Vasantrao Kabir, along with 13 buyers and institutions including DBS Bank, Axis Bank, Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd., Federal Bank, Mogaveera Co-operative Bank, LIC Housing Finance Ltd., IDFC First Bank, and Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd.
