Pune Police Concludes Statements in Family Property Dispute Case

The Pune police on Wednesday announced that they have completed the process of recording statements in a property dispute case involving businessman Rajiv Pittie and his family members. The case was initiated following a complaint by Bharat Manoharlal Pittie, who alleges that his brother and relatives wrongfully restrained him from entering their ancestral properties.

“An FIR was registered against Rajiv Pittie and four other family members under section 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in July. We have completed the process of recording the statements of Rajiv Pittie and other family members as well as a few witnesses,” said Dattatray Waghmare, assistant police inspector with the Economic Offences Wing, Pune police.

Bharat Pittie, a 57-year-old businessman who runs a textile unit manufacturing woollen garments in Bhosari, filed the complaint against his brother. He alleges that Rajiv and their relatives illegally prevented him from entering the family’s ancestral properties, which are worth crores of rupees. Bharat, a member of the family that founded Raja Bahadur Poona Mills in 1891, claims ownership over an ancestral bungalow spread over 40,000 sqft on Boat Club Road and another property in Kharadi measuring over 5,000 sqft.

When contacted, Rajiv Pittie dismissed the allegations, stating, “There is nothing in the case. It is all made up.”

According to the FIR, the three-storey Boat Club Road bungalow was shared by the family members: Rajiv’s son Pranav and his wife lived on the ground floor, Bharat and his mother on the first, and Rajiv and his wife on the third. After his mother’s death in June 2024, Bharat alleged that he was denied entry into the property.

“In October 2024, when I tried to enter the bungalow, the watchman stopped me at the gate, saying Rajiv and his family had instructed him not to allow me inside, and then shut the gate,” Bharat claimed in his complaint.

He further alleged that while he was abroad, the locks to his portion of the property were broken, and his belongings remain inside. He also objected to an advertisement for the sale of the Kharadi property, issuing a public notice stating that it could not be sold without his consent.

Bharat, who was adopted by his uncle in 1975 but returned to live with his parents within months, said his parents had executed multiple wills dividing the properties equally between him and Rajiv. The last will, signed by his mother before her death this year, also divided the properties equally between the two brothers.

The case has drawn significant attention due to the historical significance of the Raja Bahadur Poona Mills and the substantial value of the properties involved. The Pune police are continuing their investigation to resolve the dispute and ensure that justice is served.