Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Ravindra Waikar booked for cheating over construction of luxury hotel in Mumbai

The Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered a case against Shiv Sena (UBT) legislator Ravindra Waikar and five others in connection with the construction of a luxury hotel in a western suburb.

According to the official, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had given land to the Supremo Club at Jogeshwari to run a sports facility but Waikar allegedly used his clout to obtain permission to facilitate the construction of a five-star hotel there causing loss to the civic body.

This action was deemed a breach of the agreement with the BMC concerning the land's usage, the official stated. The case was officially registered on Thursday following a complaint by a BMC official at the Azad Maidan police station. First information report (FIR) has been registered for cheating, criminal breach of trust, criminal conspiracy and dishonestly including delivery of property, the official said. Waikar’s wife has also been named in the FIR, he said.

Earlier, the EOW had launched a preliminary inquiry after BJP leader Kirit Somaiya alleged that Waikar illegally obtained approval for the construction of a five-star hotel on a plot reserved for a garden by using his political clout which caused losses to the BMC. In his complaint, Somaiya alleged the scam was worth Rs 500 crore. EOW then sent notices to officials of the BMC’s Garden and Building Department asking them to join the investigation.