Residents of Sahar village have filed a criminal complaint with the metropolitan magistrate saying that construction debris from the Mumbai airport modernisation project has damaged a 100-year-old cross worshiped by local residents and has blocked their access to the shrine.
Residents of Sahar village have filed a criminal complaint with the metropolitan magistrate saying that construction debris from the Mumbai airport modernisation project has damaged a 100-year-old cross worshiped by local residents and has blocked their access to the shrine.
The complaint filed on Friday at the Andheri metropolitan magistrate against Mumbai International Airport Pvt Limited (MIAL) and an engineering company that has contracted civil work in the project, has said that the cross which belongs to the Peres family who stay in the village, has been damaged.
The complainant, Nicholas Almeida, a resident of Church Pakhadi in Sahar, said that the cross was worshiped by families staying in Sahar and Marol. It is situated next to Ambassador Flight Kitchen near the Sahar terminals. A religious ceremony is held at the cross every May.
Almeida’s complaint said cement and construction waste has been dumped around the cross making it difficult for residents to access the shrine. The complainant has asked the court to issue process against the accused for committing an offence under section 295 of the Indian Penal Code for defiling a place of worship.
“The damage to the cross, especially in the holy season of Lent, has hurt my religious sentiments,” Almeida said.
MIAL is a joint venture between GVK-SA and Airports Authority of India (AAI) to modernise facilities at Mumbai airport. While the AAI says that the land where the cross is situated has been acquired by them, the family that owned it has said that they were not compensated for the acquisition.
Advocate Godfrey Pimenta who represents Almeida, said that the land where the cross is situated does not come under the purview of the lease deed made between the two parties in 2006.
“There are certain carved out assets that are outside the purview of the lease between the two parties. The property belonging to the Peres family is once such immovable property,” said Pimenta.
Manish Kalghagi, spokesperson for MIAL, said that his company was not aware of the complaint. “If a case has been filed, we will respond accordingly when it comes to us,” he said.
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