Mumbai Real Estate Fraud: Builder Booked for ₹6.38 Crore Scam in Bhandup

Bhandup police have registered a criminal case against builder Abhayjeet Sakalnarayan Dubey of Sudhanshu Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. for allegedly cheating a Mulund-based steel trader and his family of nearly ₹6.38 crore through the sale of commercial units in a redevelopment project at Bhandup (West). The complainant, Chintan Deepak Salot, 30, runs a steel trading business through his proprietary firm Sambhavnath Corporation, while his family members operate similar businesses through separate firms.

In 2022, Salot, his brother Hardik, and father Deepak were introduced to Dubey by a common acquaintance. Dubey allegedly informed them that his company required steel on credit for the construction of Aniraj Tower Co-operative Housing Society, located opposite Kaka Petrol Pump on LBS Marg, Bhandup (West), along with other projects. Following discussions, the Salot family agreed to supply steel on a 15-to-30-day credit basis.

During the course of business dealings, the family also purchased five commercial shops in the Aniraj Tower project for a total consideration of ₹4.66 crore. Registered agreements for sale were executed on October 11, 2022, and possession of the units was allegedly promised by December 2025. The Salot family subsequently supplied steel worth around ₹3.56 crore to Dubey’s company in phases, of which nearly ₹15 lakh allegedly remains unpaid.

In 2024, the complainants allegedly discovered that four of the shops purchased by them had been merged and sold to another buyer identified as Dr Vaghela. When questioned, Dubey allegedly admitted to entering into another sale transaction and assured the complainants that they would be compensated as per prevailing market rates. During further inquiry, the Salot family allegedly learnt that multiple cheating cases had already been registered against Dubey. They then decided to terminate the shop transactions and sought around ₹5.70 crore based on prevailing market value. However, Dubey allegedly started refunding only the original purchase amount instead of the revised market value.

According to the complaint, Dubey persuaded the family to cancel one of the sale agreements, assuring them that the remaining payment would be cleared immediately after the cancellation. Trusting his assurance, Deepak Salot cancelled one agreement on July 6, 2024, following which ₹2.47 crore was transferred to his account on July 23, 2024. Dubey allegedly misled the complainant’s father by stating the shop value as ₹4 crore and recording only the original purchase price of ₹2.47 crore in the cancellation deed. However, the complainants later discovered that Dubey had already executed an agreement for sale on July 9, 2024, to sell the merged commercial unit to Dr Nandini Naresh Vaghela and Dr Naresh Suresh Vaghela for ₹5.75 crore. They further alleged that an additional ₹1 crore was paid in cash in the transaction. The commercial unit was valued at around ₹7 crore as per market rates.

The FIR also alleges that one shop purchased by the Salot family for ₹49.5 lakh in October 2022 was sold by Dubey to another buyer, Hanmant Pofale, in October 2023 for ₹52.55 lakh despite the earlier registered agreement not being cancelled. The transaction contradicts Dubey’s claim that the shops were sold at half price to the Salot family. The complainants further alleged that Dubey is currently using another disputed commercial unit in Aniraj Tower as his sales office. When they approached him in early 2025 demanding either possession of the shops or payment of pending dues, he allegedly threatened them by claiming that more than seven FIRs had already been registered against him.

Police said Dubey allegedly cheated the complainants by withholding around ₹2.34 crore from the agreed settlement amount for three shops and by allegedly misappropriating two additional commercial units collectively valued at over ₹4.04 crore. Based on the complaint, the Bhandup police have registered an FIR against Dubey under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiated further investigation.