Mumbai: The EOW of the Mumbai Police arrested a city-based builder, Yusuf Lakdawala, an accused in a land grab case, from Ahmedabad airport, while he was trying to flee the country on Friday.
Earlier this week, Lakdawala and Mohan Nair were booked for allegedly trying to usurp a plot measuring 4.38 acres worth Rs50 crore, belonging to a royal family from Hyderabad, in Khandala. The case was initially registered with the MRA Marg police and later transferred to the EOW for further investigation.
According to police sources, a Red Corner Notice (RCN) was issued on Thursday and a day later, he was arrested following a tip-off. “Lakdawala was stopped while trying to board a flight to London from Ahmedabad. He was subsequently arrested and produced before a local court. He is now being brought to Mumbai,” said Deven Bharti, Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW).
Last week, MRA Marg police booked two persons for allegedly seizing four acres worth Rs50 crore in Khandala, by submitting forged documents to the registrar’s office at Old Customs House in South Mumbai. The fraud came to light when the complainant, Jitendra Badgujar, was approached by the EOW for a fraud case filed in Mumbai.
In February, the Mumbai EOW officials, had visited Badgujar last year, seeking documents in a fraud case they were probing. The case was related to the the ownership of four acres of land in Khandala. Further probe revealed, Lakdawala and Nair, along with associates, had conspired to usurp 4.38 acres in Khandala.
The EOW suspected the conspiracy was part of a larger case and asked Badgujar to lodge a complaint at the registrar’s office and with the MRA Marg police, as the crime was committed in the latter’s jurisdiction. Both the accused were booked for cheating and forgery under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Indian Registration Act.
