A farmer from Pune district has filed a civil lawsuit against actress Sonali Bendre and her filmmaker-husband, Goldie Behl, accusing them of encroaching on his land and indulging in “mafia-style” intimidation.
The complainants — Chandrakant Balu Shinde and his mother, Kamalbai — claim that the celebrity couple was using their social influence and taking help of the local police to forcibly take possession of their 30 guntha (more than 32,000 sq. ft.) of land in Uksan village in Maval taluka of the district. The suit was filed against Sonali, Goldie and two others last month before a civil court at Vadgaon, Maval. As per the suit, the Shinde family has been cultivating the land as “protected tenants” since the 1940s. The family alleged that their names were illegally removed from revenue records in the 1980s without notice.
Sonali Bendre denied the allegations and said that her name was not mentioned on any of the land purchase documents.
The matter will be heard on April 24.
