Mumbai: Three in cop net for housing racket

City crime branch sleuths have busted a housing racket on Tuesday and have arrested three people who were allegedly instrumental in forging MHADA documents and dupe citizens by promising them flats on the basis of forged documents.

Those arrested have been identified Mohammad Nasir Hussain, 40, Shahul Hamid Shaikh, 45, and Pratiksha Nagar resident Pratik Vasant Thorat, 28, an estate agent. All of them are residents of Dharavi.

On Monday, Mumbai crime branch's Bandra unit received information that someone who is into preparing bogus MHADA room distribution documents and other MHADA related documents would be arriving at Hasnabad Lane in Khar (W). A police team then reached the spot. At around 4.30 pm, the suspect later identified as Mohammad Nasir Hussain arrived at the spot and was apprehended.

From his possession, the police found MHADA documents which had the name of one Mohammad Ibrahim Anwar-ul-Haq.

"Nasir claimed that he had promised Mohammad Ibrahim Anwar-ul-Haq a room in MHADA and had taken Rs 55,000 from him. He had also prepared bogus MHADA documents and used bogus rubber stamps in this regard. During interrogation, Nasir revealed that he had prepared bogus documents and rubber stamps with the help of Shaikh and Thorat," said a police officer.

The crime branch then registered a case at Khar police station against the trio under sections of forgery and cheating under Indian Penal Code and took over investigations of the case.

"We have seized room distribution papers of MHADA office, different types of MHADA forms, rubber stamps, numbering punch machine and a pen drive from the accused persons. We are also probing who all from MHADA were part of this racket and how many people had been duped by the trio," the officer said.