Mumbai: A farmer from Pune district has filed a civil lawsuit against actor Sonali Bendre and her filmmaker husband Goldie Behl, accusing them of encroaching on their land and indulging in “mafia-style” intimidation. Bendre denied the allegation, saying it was an attempt to extort money as her name was not mentioned on any of the land purchase documents.The complainants—Chandrakant Balu Shinde (50) and his mother Kamalbai (75)—claim the celebrity couple was using their social influence and taking help of the local police to forcibly take possession of their 30 ‘guntha’ (over 32,000 square feet) of land in Uksan village in Maval taluka of the district. The suit was filed against the couple and two others last month before a civil court at Vadgaon Maval. The matter will be heard on April 24. As per the suit, the Shinde family has been cultivating the land as “protected tenants” since 1940s. The family alleged their names were illegally removed from revenue records in the 1980s without a notice. Bendre said her name is not on any documents related to Maval land purchase. This is a false case orchestrated to extort money, her lawyer Raju Shinde said. PTI
