Mumbai Financial Fraud: ₹80 Crore Scam Unearthed In Tilak Nagar Slum Redevelopment Project, FIR Filed

Mumbai: A major financial fraud amounting to nearly Rs 80 crore has surfaced in the slum redevelopment project (SRA) at Panchsheel Nagar in Tilak Nagar. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered an FIR against the directors and partners of Aashapura Group.

The developers are accused of embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, and fraudulent diversion of money allocated for the SRA scheme. The accused have been identified as Chetan Bhanshali, Pravin Chamaria, Maya Hikmat Udan, Meena Chetan Bhanshali, Dhanji Ganesha Patel, Laxmi Ben Patel, and Bechar Patel. The investigation is being conducted by Unit 14 of the EOW under the supervision of Assistant Police Inspector Yogesh Bhadre.

About The Case

The case was registered following a complaint filed by 31-year-old Chaitanya Jatin Mehta, a Ghatkopar-based real estate businessman and partner in the firm Arihant Realtors. His parents, Jatin and Pallavi Mehta, are also engaged in the real estate sector. On August 24, 2008, Arihant Realtors initiated the redevelopment of the Panchsheel Nagar slum, located at CTS No. 1831/29 (Part), near Amar Mahal Junction on the Ghatkopar-Mahul Link Road.

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Six housing societies – Sarnath, Vaishali, RCB, Nagsen, Marathwada, and Siddharth – had agreed to the project, which involved over 800 slum dwellers, more than 700 of whom gave preference to Arihant Realtors. After securing the necessary approvals from the SRA and related authorities, including Annexure-II verifying the eligibility of 587 slum dwellers, construction was planned over an area of 48,686.62 sq mt. On July 12, 2011, a partnership agreement inducted Aashapura Group’s directors Chetan Bhadra alias Chetan Bhanshali and Pravin Chamaria (through Aashapura Edifice Pvt Ltd and Aashapura Option Pvt Ltd) as 65% stakeholders under the firm name Arihant Aashapura Project, which was formalised on January 29, 2015.

By 2016, the project had received an Occupation Certificate (OC) and a Commencement Certificate (CC) from the SRA. Under the agreement, Aashapura was responsible for funding and project management, while Arihant was in charge of securing land clearance from slum dwellers. Despite holding a majority stake, Aashapura allegedly failed to fund the project adequately. Despite being the majority stakeholder, Aashapura allegedly failed to provide the agreed-upon funding. Instead, forensic audits revealed systematic financial mismanagement, including fund diversion, inflated billing, and the creation of bogus creditors.

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A total loan of Rs 180 crore was sanctioned by PNB Housing Finance Ltd (Delhi) for the construction of Phases 1-2. Out of this, Rs30 crore was released for Phase 1. However, Aashapura allegedly misrepresented this amount as necessary for repaying unsecured debts to another firm, Exzender Finance, and withdrew it fraudulently. Another Rs 21 crore was disbursed for Phase 2, which was claimed to have been used for construction but was instead allegedly transferred to Chetan Bhanshali’s brother, Himat Bhadra, for personal gain.

In addition, payments collected from flat buyers were reportedly deposited into a general current account instead of the designated escrow accounts. The Project Management Consultant (PMC) was also found to be linked to Aashapura. The PMC allegedly submitted inflated bills of Rs 18 crore, causing financial losses to Arihant Realtors. The forensic audit revealed that Aashapura had created around 200 bogus creditors and showed Rs 140 crore as payable, a key part of the alleged fraud. These “creditors” were in fact, fronts used to siphon funds.

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Eventually, after defaulting on loans and failing to progress with the project, Aashapura abandoned the development in 2021. On December 17, 2021, they agreed to a settlement, relinquishing all rights in return for Rs 21 crore in compensation. However, they allegedly failed to comply with the settlement terms and withheld critical project information. The failure to update bank account signatories caused further financial obstacles and delayed the project.