On Friday, the Kandivali police registered an FIR against Shiv Sena (Shinde) office-bearer Lalsingh Rajpurohit and his associate Harish Makdia for allegedly committing fraud. The Free Press Journal had earlier reported that the police had yet to file an FIR regarding the alleged cheating of a 62-year-old woman of ₹52 lakh.
According to the FIR, Sushma Pai, a resident of Borivali West, lives with her husband and three sons. Her husband, Dattaram Pai, worked as a contractor handling MTNL telephone projects. However, he had to stop working after suffering a paralytic attack.
In 1994, Dattaram Pai purchased a shop Shop No. 11, Dattani Gram Building No. 3, Irani Wadi Road No. 1, Kandivali West in his wife Sushma Pai’s name. He used the shop for his business. In February 2019, after her husband’s illness, the family urgently required ₹25 lakh for medical treatment. To arrange funds, Sushma Pai sold her gold ornaments and borrowed money from relatives and friends. To repay the borrowed amount, they decided to rent out their shop.
In March 2019, Lalsingh Rajpurohit, Harish Makdia, and Hitesh Ajani visited the shop. Rajpurohit expressed interest in renting the shop from Pai’s husband, stating that while the lease would be in Makdia and Ajani’s names, he would be responsible for paying the rent. Since the Pai family urgently needed money, they agreed. A rental agreement was drafted for the period from May 1, 2019, to January 31, 2023, with a deposit of ₹1 lakh and a monthly rent of ₹16,000. Later, Rajpurohit sent the agreement to their residence with Ajani and instructed Sushma Pai over the phone to sign it. She complied, and for the first two to three months, Makdia paid the rent as per Rajpurohit’s instructions.
Rajpurohit soon learned about Dattaram Pai’s deteriorating health and the family’s urgent financial needs. In September 2019, Makdia visited the Pai residence, stating that Rajpurohit had sent him to inquire whether they were willing to sell the shop. Later, Rajpurohit, Makdia, and another associate arrived at the Pai residence to discuss the sale. Dattaram Pai agreed to sell the shop for ₹57 lakh. In December 2019, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed, stating that Rajpurohit would pay ₹5 lakh as a token amount and the remaining ₹52 lakh within 90 days. Rajpurohit paid ₹5 lakh and promised to pay the balance within two months.
However, when the Pai family did not receive the money within the agreed timeframe, Dattaram Pai and his son visited Rajpurohit’s office in February 2020 to demand the payment. Rajpurohit claimed he did not have the funds at the moment but would pay later. As the Pai family urgently needed money for treatment, Dattaram Pai insisted that he either pay the amount or return the shop. In response, Rajpurohit threatened them, assured them that he would continue paying rent in the meantime, and then forced them out of his office.
Until August 2023, Rajpurohit occasionally paid ₹50,000 or ₹60,000, but when Dattaram Pai visited his office to inquire about the MoU and the pending amount, Rajpurohit again threatened him, stating that he would neither pay the rent nor the agreed purchase amount and challenged them to take any action they wished.
Eventually, Sushma Pai filed a complaint against Rajpurohit and Makdia on January 6. The Kandivali police registered a case under sections 420 (cheating and dishonesty), 406 (criminal breach of trust), and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
