MUMBAI: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) vibhag pramukh Ganesh Chukkal, 46, was arrested by the Mumbai police in Powai on Friday in a 2022 cheating and forgery case involving a flat at Hiranandani Estates, DCP (West Zone-3) Datta Nalawade said.Chukkal allegedly forged the signature of Alka Bhatia Hiranandani, sister of actor Akshay Kumar, and fabricated a 30-year lease deed for Flat No. 3505 in Odonio Building. A court remanded him in police custody until October 5 for further investigation.The property is linked to Melronia Hospitality Pvt Ltd, whose directors include Hiranandani, Kamal Niranjan Hiranandani and Shridhar Narayan. The directors had accused Chukkal of cheating the company and forging their signatures.According to the FIR, Chukkal, a director of Bryce Infrastructure, leased the flat along with two parking spaces from Melronia for 36 months in 2018. Under the agreement, Bryce Infrastructure was required to pay a security deposit of Rs 15.3 lakh and a monthly licence fee of Rs 2.55 lakh by the 20th of each month. Delayed payments attracted annual interest of 12%.Bryce Infrastructure allegedly defaulted on payments in October 2019. Chukkal later assured the company that he would clear outstanding dues of Rs 2.67 lakh in the first week of January 2020 but failed to do so.Melronia terminated the agreement in 2020 and asked Chukkal to vacate the flat. After he allegedly refused, the company filed a complaint. Chukkal subsequently submitted an affidavit claiming that the property had been leased to him for 30 years.Police alleged that he had altered the lease period from three years to 30 years and forged documents, including a notary document dated 2004 and the signatures of Melronia’s three directors. Scrutiny of the deed revealed that it did not carry a notary serial number and bore an unclear seal.Chukkal had earlier obtained anticipatory bail in the case. He is also an accused in a separate case involving the alleged firing at a civil contractor in Kurla.
