The Bombay crime branch earlier this month issued a lookout circular for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s suspended assistant municipal commissioner Mahesh Patil amid concerns that he might leave the country. He is an accused in the Rs. 16.24 crore cheating case lodged by actor Jaaved Jaaferi’s family.
The crime branch’s property cell had earlier arrested UK-based businessman Nishit Patel for allegedly cheating Jaaved Jaaferi, his wife and their relatives of Rs. 16.24 crore on the promise of lucrative returns through investments linked to the redevelopment of the New Kamal Kunj project at Bandra West.
Jaaved’s wife first met Mahesh Patil at his BMC office in April 2024 for some clarification regarding a tax-related matter. Patil allegedly told her about an investment opportunity in a property project at Bandra in Bombay and advised her to channelise it through Patel. It is reported that Nishit Patel frequently visited the Jaaferis at their residence, presented project layouts and maps, and persuaded the family to invest nearly Rs. 30 crore in exchange for commercial space in the redevelopment project. He allegedly furnished forged letters and other documents to convince the family to invest. In this way, he allegedly collected more than Rs. 16 crore from Jaaved Jaaferi, his relatives and other investors.
According to the police, several influential individuals like retired police officers, civic officials, artistes and retired judges had allegedly invested different amounts in the project after being promised substantial returns.
The alleged fraud came to light in July 2025, when the complainants visited the Bandra registration office and discovered that one of the agreements shown to them did not exist in the official records. When confronted, the accused assured the investors that the money would be returned, but that never happened.
