Mumbai News: Colaba Police Register FIR In ₹100 Crore Property Fraud; Family Members Booked For Alleged Murder, Forgery And Conspiracy
Mumbai: The Colaba Police have registered a criminal case involving serious charges of conspiracy, cheating, forgery, and murder against ten individuals, including family members of the complainant and several professionals as per an order of the Esplanade metropolitan magistrate's court.
Now this case has been transferred to the crime branch for further investigation, a police official told FPJ on Thursday. A source close to the accused said the allegations were "totally baseless."
The case stems from a complaint filed by Zenobia Rohington Poonawalla (44), a resident of Ratan Manor, Garden Road, Colaba. The FIR have been registered under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 204, 405, 406, 420 (cheating), 467, and 468 (forgery).
According to the police, the case centers on allegations that Zenobia's brother, Dr. Rustom Ginwala (52), in collusion with other family members and associates, fabricated a fake will of their late father, thereby unlawfully transferring assets worth over ₹100 crore into their own names.
The accused names in the FIR includes Dr. Rustom Jinwala, Dr. Suresh Agarwal, Nahid Contractor Ginwala, Dr. Ashish Contractor, Dr. Rashna Ginwala (currently residing in the USA), Dr. Sheri Jinwala-Garcia (currently residing in the USA),Dr. Devanshu Desai, Sushila Landge, a domestic helpand E.K. Nambiar.
The complainant has alleged that the accused manipulated her ailing father's mental condition to execute forged documents, including a gift deed and will, transferring prime properties and company shares worth crores without her knowledge.
She further claims that her father, who was in poor mental and physical health and unable to comprehend legal decisions, was exploited by the accused to gain control over his estate and business interests.
The FIR also includes a serious charge of murder (Section 302 of IPC). Zenobia claims that when her legal petition questioning her father's mental health reached a critical point in court proceedings—wherein Dr. Rustom Jinwala was required to produce their father in court—the accused conspired to cause his death. Allegedly the forged death documentation was created with the assistance of Dr. Suresh Agarwal to cover up the act.
The case is currently under investigation by crime branch Unit 1. No arrests have been made yet. Further inquiries are ongoing to examine the authenticity of the documents and determine the circumstances surrounding the alleged conspiracy to cause his death and property transfers.
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