Five Arrested for Allegedly Cheating Navi Mumbai Builder of Rs 2.3 Crore in Fraudulent Land Deal
Navi Mumbai, 1st August 2026: Panvel City Police have arrested five persons in connection with a land fraud case in which a Kharghar-based builder was allegedly cheated of ₹2.3 crore through forged documents and fake identities in the sale of a 47-guntha (approximately 4,755 sq. m.) plot in Karanjade.
The arrests come after a five-month investigation into an FIR registered against eight accused on charges of cheating and forgery.
According to police, the land originally belonged to brothers Nathan and Shalom Eliyahu Chincholkar, natives of Panvel who had migrated to Israel decades ago. The brothers died in 2011 and 2016, respectively, while their legal heirs continue to reside in Israel and the United States.
Senior Police Inspector Bala Kumbhar of Panvel City Police Station said four of the accused Suraj Vasudev Shinde, Satish Namdev Shinde, Tejas Pramod Shinde, and Manish Manohar More were traced to Goa. Suraj, Satish and Tejas were arrested from Thivim, Goa, based on technical surveillance and specific intelligence inputs.
During the investigation, police found that co-accused Manish More had already been arrested by Mapusa Police in an unrelated theft case and was lodged in Kolwal Central Jail. He was subsequently taken into custody after obtaining a transit remand.
The fifth accused, Vasudev Namdev Shinde, who allegedly impersonated Nathan Chincholkar during the land transaction, was arrested from Dombivli. Police also recovered forged Aadhaar and PAN cards prepared in Nathan’s name.
Police further revealed that Suraj Shinde was wanted in another fraud case registered at Uran Police Station and had been evading arrest by frequently changing his mobile number and residence. Investigators said he stayed in several states, including Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, to avoid detection.
According to the complaint filed by Prashant Patekar (55), a builder from Kharghar, estate agent Amrit Thakur informed him in 2024 that a 47-guntha plot bearing Survey No. 81/2 in Karanjade was available for sale. Thakur allegedly stated that the property documents had been provided by another estate agent, Suraj Shinde.
Patekar said he got the documents verified through a lawyer, who found them to be genuine. He later met two individuals posing as landowners Nathan and Shalom Chincholkar, along with Shinde and other intermediaries, and finalised the deal at ₹5 lakh per guntha.
An MoU was executed, and a public notice inviting objections to the proposed sale was published in a local newspaper on June 6, 2024. The sale deed was subsequently registered at the Panvel-I Sub-Registrar’s Office on August 23, 2024, where the accused allegedly submitted forged property documents along with fake Aadhaar and PAN cards.
Patekar told police he paid a total of ₹2.3 crore through cheques and RTGS transfers between June 5, 2024, and October 7, 2025.
The fraud came to light after Orian Moses Penkar, acting under a power of attorney issued by Bechalel, son of Shalom Chincholkar, sent a legal notice to Patekar on August 18, 2025, claiming that the land had been fraudulently sold.
Subsequently, Aslam Munshi, representing the Bethel Israeli Trust, also approached the police, alleging that the individuals claiming to be the landowners were impostors.
During the investigation, police confirmed that the real Nathan and Shalom Chincholkar had died years earlier and that their legal heirs were residing abroad. Nathan’s son, Emil Benjamin Chincholkar, and his wife, Daisy, travelled from Israel and produced documents establishing their ownership of the property.
After verifying the records and confirming the alleged fraud, Patekar filed a complaint with Panvel City Police on February 16, leading to the registration of the case and the subsequent arrests.
Police said efforts are underway to trace the remaining accused and further investigate the conspiracy behind the forged land transaction.
