After three years of thorough investigation, the police eventually nabbed down the culprit who issued fake vacation notices and gave people Mumbai Building Repair and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) houses on the basis of the same and has been identified as Sandhya Landge, a MHADA official.
The accused was arrested on Wednesday and the court has ordered that the official should be kept in police custody till September 10,” Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Patil told Mumbai Live.
To understand the crime, it is necessary to understand the functioning of the MBRR Board. When a building’s condition deteriorates and becomes time-worn, the board transfers the residents of the building to transit camps. After the building is redeveloped and constructed, the residents are given back their homes. However, in order to avoid any problems, the board issues ‘vacation notice’ to the residents which has to be produced before claiming their houses.
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And so, it was revealed during Landge’s investigation that the fraud was being committed for several years in MHADA. She stated that for many years, there has been an arrangement for fake vacation notices. Landge has been working as a sub-divisional officer in MHADA and the fraud came into light four years ago. In 2015, a case for the same was registered and the police have been investigating since then.
After she was proved guilty, the police arrested her on Wednesday. Interestingly during the investigation, she revealed the involvement of several other officials and the police will accordingly take those people in for interrogation.
In response, the chief officer of the board Dinkar Jagdale said that the officials that are found guilty will be tried and suspended accordingly.