The Ghatkopar police have filed charges against Devang, Jaysinh, Maulik, and Nitin Punjala Dave, designated partners of Punjalal G Dave Realtors LLP, for allegedly defrauding a senior citizen of Rs 3.91 crores.
The complainant, Sanjay Dhawan (63), a resident of Vidyavihar, reported to the police that his late father, Janakraj Dhawan, had owned two flats in Amritsar, a building, and two godowns in Masjid Bunder, which he sold between 2008 and 2012. Dhawan stated that his father’s “close friend” Harshadbhai Dave, who owned Punjalal G Dave Realtors LLP (PGD), persuaded him to invest the proceeds into the company, promising substantial returns and land. Consequently, in 2012, Janakraj invested Rs 5.5 crore in PGD.
In Between 2008 and 2010, they paid Kalpesh Seth (a director at Seth Builders and a committee member of Jai Arihant CHS) a total of ₹82,63,000 in installments. However, Dhawan added that in 2011, Seth halted the project due to multiple delays and transferred the power of attorney to him.
From April to December 2013, Devang, Maulik, and Jaysinh Punjala Dave returned Rs 3.29 crore of the Rs 3.50 crore invested by the Dhawan family in the project, which initially built their trust in PGD. But Dhawan alleged that PGD later persuaded them to invest further in two projects—Chandani CHS in Ghatkopar and Arihant Siddhi Apartment in Borivali—with the promise of receiving 25% of the saleable area in return. From 2013 to 2015, Dhawan paid PGD Rs 3.91 crore, but these funds were never returned. Dhawan claims that despite repeated requests and warnings, the money was not refunded.
The fraudsters have been booked under charges including cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal intimidation, among other offenses under the Indian Penal Code.
Source: The Free Press Journal
