Mumbai: ‘They suddenly came and demolished our room’

The demolished structure. Pics/Anurag Ahire

A developer, Shreeji Constructions, and a 50-year-old teacher, Shriveena Murzello, are at loggerheads over the demolition of a slum structure in Orlem, Malad. While Murzello has alleged that the developer's men entered the structure she owns without any notice or intimation and demolished the room, Nimesh Desai of Shreeji Construction has refuted all such allegations, stating they were made with mala fide intentions.

Murzello has alleged that those who entered the premises were from Shreeji Constructions and the police have merely registered a non-cognizable (NC) offence against them instead of an FIR. Murzello was in the small causes court on March 18 for a hearing in connection with a property case related to a ground-floor structure near her Orlem bungalow. While in court, she got a call from her husband saying that a few people claiming to be working for a developer had started break the walls of the structure that she was fighting for legally.

She then brought the incident to the court's attention and rushed back only to see the structure in ruins. Now, she is running from pillar to post to get a trespassing case registered against the persons concerned.

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‘Will write to chief minister'

Murzello said, "We own an ancestral bungalow which has been pulled down for redevelopment. The bungalow plot is a stone's throw away from a room (structure) that we own. But, the builder's men entered my premises without any intimation or notice with regard to the demolition. For any structure to be demolished, the owner or occupier needs to be given notice. But, in this case, one fine day, a few people barged in and started demolishing our room. It is a clear case of trespassing. But instead of treating this as a criminal case and lodging an FIR, the Malad police have merely registered an NC."

Shriveena Murzello and her husband say they own the structure

Murzello is fighting a legal battle with one Rajendra Chavan who has claimed rights to the structure. "Chavan claims that he is our tenant. We have contested his claims and the case is going on in the small causes court. But, while the hearing of the case was on and we all were in the court, the structure was pulled down," she stated.

Murzello now plans to write to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. "We demand that an FIR be registered and our structure be reconstructed. As our plea for justice has been ignored at the local police level, we have no choice but to escalate the issue by writing to the CM," she added.

Other side

Nimesh Desai, partner, Shreeji Constructions, told mid-day that the complainant owned a bungalow and had given her consent for redevelopment. Accordingly, the bungalow was demolished. "After the demolition of the bungalow, the complainant overnight constructed seven more rooms. These unauthorised rooms were demolished. A police complaint has been lodged in this regard," Desai alleged.

The developer further stated that they have all the necessary permissions from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and all activities on the ground are going on as per norms. Meanwhile, the Malad police claimed that they are investigating the case and will take appropriate action according to the rule book.

Ravi Adane, senior police inspector, Malad police station, said, "The structure in question falls under the SRA. One party claims that owners had given their consent for redevelopment and accordingly, the structure has been pulled down. While the other claims that it was razed without any notice or permissions. We are verifying both claims. We will be verifying the documents with the SRA." Asked why an FIR had not been registered, he stated that according to the law, the police have been given time to file a case and it will be done accordingly.

14
Day in March when razing occurred