Mumbai: Veteran actor Dilip Kumar and his wife Saira Banu have sent a defam-ation notice to builder Sameer Bhojwani for making false claims of ownership to their Rs 250 crore property in suburban Bandra. In the notice, they have sought an apology from Bhojwani and Rs 200 crore in damages for defaming them in public with his statements.
Dilip and Saira in January 2018 lodged a police complaint, accusing Bhojwani of forging title documents of their bungalow worth Rs 250 crore located in the Pali Hill area of Bandra.
On December 21, 2018, Bhojwani issued a public notice claiming that he was the “rightful owner” of the said property. He further claimed that the 96-year-old thespian was only a “lessee” of the property. Taking objection to this, Dilip and Saira on December 31, 2018, sent a defamation notice, a copy of which is with The Asian Age, to Bhojwani for misleading the public with false and defamatory statements.
“Bhojwani has damaged the reputation of Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu in public by making false and defamatory statements against them,” said the notice sent to Bhojwani by the star couple’s advocate Chirag Shah. “On the basis of forged and fabricated documents, Bhojwani is claiming ownership of a property, originally owned by Dilip and Saira,” it read.
The notice added that the actor had already filed a FIR with the city police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) against Bhojwani and others for criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery. “Dilip and Saira are the legitimate owners of the property situated at Pali Hill in Bandra and have acquired the same in September 1953,” the notice said.
The notice further ma-intained that the char-ge-sheet filed by the police in the case against Bhojwani stated that the realtor had claimed ownership of the property on the basis of alleged forged documents. “Bhojwani issued the public notice on December 21, 2018, with a criminal intention to grab/encroach the legitimate rights of Dilip and Saira by creating a perception among the public that he (Bhojwani) is the owner of the property,” it said.
