The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested Devendra Padwal, a key accused in the alleged ₹16.24 crore redevelopment investment fraud involving the family of actor Javed Jaffrey, apprehending him from Sindhudurg district. A second named accused, BMC Assistant Commissioner Mahesh Patil, remains absconding despite the issuance of a Look Out Circular intended to prevent him from leaving the country.
According to investigators, Padwal allegedly forged a power of attorney in the name of a prominent real estate developer, falsely claiming authority to make decisions and execute legal documents on that developer’s behalf. Police believe this forged document played a crucial role in convincing investors that the underlying redevelopment project was legitimate, lending it exactly the kind of institutional credibility that separates a plausible investment pitch from an obvious scam.
How the Alleged Scheme Reached the Jaffrey Family
The case was initially registered at Khar Police Station in May following a complaint filed by Habiba Jaffrey, wife of actor Javed Jaffrey, before being transferred to the Mumbai Crime Branch’s Property Cell given the complexity of the alleged fraud. According to the complaint, Habiba Jaffrey came into contact with Mahesh Patil during visits to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation office, where he allegedly introduced her to what was presented as a lucrative investment opportunity in a redevelopment project in Mumbai’s Bandra area and directed her to invest through co-accused Nishit Patel.
Investigators allege the accused created forged government registration documents and presented them as authentic to build investor confidence. Based on these allegedly fabricated records, Habiba Jaffrey, her husband Javed Jaffrey, relatives including Naved Jaffrey, and other investors put substantial sums into the proposed venture. Police allege the accused collected nearly ₹16.24 crore in total, through cheque payments, cash, foreign currency, and even luxury watches, all on the promise of profitable returns from the redevelopment project. The FIR names Mahesh Patil, Nishit Patel, Devendra Padwal, Rupesh More, and others as accused, with Nishit Patel and Rupesh More already arrested and currently in judicial custody. Investigators allege that Rupesh More was responsible for preparing the forged documents used to facilitate the scheme.
What Comes Next in the Investigation
Following his arrest, Padwal was produced before a court, which remanded him to police custody for further investigation. Investigators are questioning him regarding the preparation of forged documents, the alleged conspiracy, and the movement of funds through the scheme. The Crime Branch said multiple teams continue working to trace Mahesh Patil, whose alleged position as a BMC Assistant Commissioner, and the access and credibility that title would have lent to the scheme, makes his continued absence a significant gap in the investigation.
Police are separately examining financial transactions, investment records, property-related documents, and other evidence to determine the roles of all named accused and to identify any additional individuals connected to the alleged fraud.
A Recurring Pattern in Mumbai’s Redevelopment Economy
The Jaffrey family case is far from an isolated instance. Mumbai’s redevelopment sector, where ageing buildings across the city are routinely reconstructed by developers in exchange for a share of the new saleable area, has repeatedly proven fertile ground for large-scale fraud built on forged documentation and fabricated official credibility. In a case that bears a striking structural resemblance to this one, a Mumbai businessman was allegedly duped of ₹17.74 crore in a real estate scheme after the accused posed as an Intelligence Bureau officer and forged documents in the name of a senior MHADA official, who later confirmed publicly that he had no connection to the accused or the documents bearing his name.
Other recent cases point to the same underlying vulnerability. Investors were allegedly duped of ₹31.26 crore by father-son developers on a Jogeshwari redevelopment project promising an 18 per cent annual return, with initial payouts creating a false sense of security before the scheme collapsed. In a separate Malad case, developers allegedly used fabricated ownership documents to conceal disputed legal title over land before securing ₹18.09 crore from an unsuspecting investor. Across each of these cases, a common thread emerges: fraudulent schemes anchored in redevelopment gain credibility not through the underlying property itself, but through forged or impersonated official documentation, whether attributed to a developer, a government authority, or, as alleged in the Jaffrey case, a sitting municipal official.
For investors considering redevelopment-linked opportunities in Mumbai, cases like this one point to a recurring lesson that has borne out repeatedly: any documentation purporting to carry government or municipal authority should be independently verified directly with the issuing authority, rather than accepted on the credibility of the individual presenting it, however senior or well-connected that individual may appear.
