SUSHIL MOHTA OF MERLIN PROJECTS LTD BRINGS SHAME TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY OF PROMOTER-DEVELOPERS IN INDIA BY RESORTING TO BLACKMAIL & EXTORTION TO EVADE EXECUTION OF ORDER PASSED IN FAVOUR OF THEIR CLIENT BY THE STATE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, WEST BENGAL.
My client is a 57 years old housewife. Her only son is a foreign qualified professional who is unfortunately undergoing treatment for a psychological illness (Schizo Affective Disorder).
My client’s husband had obtained a favourable order from the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, West Bengal in connection with a property purchased by him from the above Builder. Copy of the Order and details of the case can be viewed at:
https://sites.google.com/site/merlinprojectsunionbanksite/.
However, the Builder did not execute the Order and my client’s husband was constrained to file two criminal cases U/S: 156(3) Cr.P.C against the Builder & others for offences committed U/S: 420/427/406/120B which are pending with the Police for over 2 years thanks to the money power & political influence of the Builder.
However, on strong follow up by my client’s husband with judicial authorities, the above cases are coming up for trial shortly.
In view of this development, the Builder apprehending arrest started trying to blackmail my client & her son so that the cases against the Builder were withdrawn by my client’s husband.
Initially, the Builder threatened my client’s husband through his goons and then directly by Police officials but this did not deter my client’s husband from seeking due justice through proper channels.
Being unable to subjugate my client’s husband by above means the Builder, Mr. Sushil Mohta sent an e-mail providing the personal & financial information about my client & her son to his relative Mr. Navneet Baheti, a former employee of ICICI Bank and now working as a Real Estate Agent under the name of B'Squarre Services, Hyderabad.
In the above e-mail, Mr. Sushil Mohta instructed Mr. Navneet Baheti to use the said personal & financial details of my client and her son to steal the highly confidential Credit Information Reports of my client and her son from the Credit Information Bureau of India.
Under instructions from Sushil Mohta, Navneet Baheti by impersonating as an ICICI Bank official forged a false “Credit Information Request Form” in the name of ICICI Bank and by passing off the same as genuine he illegally obtained the said reports and sent these to his accomplice Mr. Sushil Mohta.
After falling sick, my client’s son had arranged restructuring of his educational loan with the financing Bank but the same was being shown as outstanding in the CIBIL Report.
The Builder then mentioned to my client’s son that he had high level connections with Banks & Police Officials which he would use to have my client’s son arrested & tortured by the Police for defaulting on loan payments.
My client’s son being in an irrational frame of mind due to his illness believed the Builder and attempted to commit suicide. He is still in a state of deep depression.
The exchange of e-mails on all the points mentioned above were intercepted and found to be routed through the server of Merlin Projects Ltd as confirmed by a renowned cyber crime tracking agency.
My client becoming highly apprehensive about her son’s mental health initially directed the undersigned to plead with the Builder to stop harassing her son as this could drive him to commit suicide but when no action was taken either by the Builder or the Police, she filed a complaint U/S: 156(3) Cr.P.C against the Builder.
After hearing the complaint and thoroughly examining the supporting evidence, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Alipore Court, directed the Police to record an FIR against the Builder for offences punishable U/S: 471/465/468/ 506/384 IPC & U/S: 66A/66B/66C/72/72A of the Information Technology Act.
Specific charges filed against the accused persons as incorporated in the FIR recorded by the Police include:
(a) Breach of privacy & confidentiality of my client & her son with criminal intent;
(b) Sending offensive messages by e-mail to malign the character of my client & her son;
(c) Extortion, blackmail & criminal intimidation;
(d) Committing forgery with intent to cheat;
(e) Accessing confidential information by impersonation/identity theft;
(f) Dishonestly receiving stolen goods;
(g) Mentally torturing my client’s only son who is suffering from a psychological illness thereby causing serious harm to his mental health and instigating him to commit suicide.
One fails to understand how an unscrupulous criminal like Merlin Projects Ltd is allowed to survive in a decent society and hold a responsible position in The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India CREDAI which proclaims its credo as :-
"To perpetuate an ethical code of conduct, which is self-imposed & mandatory for all the member developers /builder of CREDAI to maintain integrity & transparency in the profession of real estate development".
NILMANI DUTTA
SR. ADVOCATE - KOLKATA HIGH COURT.
