Dream of owning Shilpa Shetty's flat cost Rs. 1 cr
Star-struck builder cancels Juhu apartment deal with actress; his broker flees with deposit money
It is not a loss of Rs1 crore that is giving sleepless nights to developer Ketan Shah — losing face in the fraternity is. Known for his fondness for Bollywood stars, Shah, Ravi Group's managing director, rushed in to buy an apartment from actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra in Juhu for a whopping Rs8 crore. He paid Rs1 crore in cash as deposit around August.
Shah sought a three-month period to make the final payment but realised that his keenness to do business with the Bollywood star was going to cost him dearly. The 2,000sqft apartment opposite Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow in Juhu would eventually have cost him Rs40,000 per sqft — almost 50% more than the prevailing market rate of Rs25,000 per sqft.
The Ravi Group deals in properties in the far-flung western suburbs such as Malad and Mira Road. Shah, too, does not have too much knowledge about properties and their rates in Juhu. "Shah chickened out of the deal, but he did not have the courage of asking Shetty to refund the deposit money. So, he asked broker Rajesh Thakkar to collect the cash from the actress," said a source familiar with the deal. The source said Shetty was unhappy with the cancellation of the deal but returned the money to Thakkar.
The Rs1 crore amount was enough temptation for Thakkar who was finalising plans to migrate from India. "He left with his family immediately after getting the cash," the source said.
Despite repeated attempts to get the money from Thakkar's family, Shah was unsuccessful. He then approached the police. "We have booked a complaint against Thakkar. Investigations are on and we are trying to trace him. As of now, we have no clue about his whereabouts," said assistant police inspector LG Shinde of the Kandivli police station.
Shah said he was doing everything to get his money back. "I cannot give you more details," he said. "We sold the apartment long back to another party," said Shetty. The actress said she had nothing to do with Shah and had returned his money.
Star-struck builder cancels Juhu apartment deal with actress; his broker flees with deposit money
It is not a loss of Rs1 crore that is giving sleepless nights to developer Ketan Shah — losing face in the fraternity is. Known for his fondness for Bollywood stars, Shah, Ravi Group's managing director, rushed in to buy an apartment from actor Shilpa Shetty and her husband Raj Kundra in Juhu for a whopping Rs8 crore. He paid Rs1 crore in cash as deposit around August.
Shah sought a three-month period to make the final payment but realised that his keenness to do business with the Bollywood star was going to cost him dearly. The 2,000sqft apartment opposite Amitabh Bachchan's bungalow in Juhu would eventually have cost him Rs40,000 per sqft — almost 50% more than the prevailing market rate of Rs25,000 per sqft.
The Ravi Group deals in properties in the far-flung western suburbs such as Malad and Mira Road. Shah, too, does not have too much knowledge about properties and their rates in Juhu. "Shah chickened out of the deal, but he did not have the courage of asking Shetty to refund the deposit money. So, he asked broker Rajesh Thakkar to collect the cash from the actress," said a source familiar with the deal. The source said Shetty was unhappy with the cancellation of the deal but returned the money to Thakkar.
The Rs1 crore amount was enough temptation for Thakkar who was finalising plans to migrate from India. "He left with his family immediately after getting the cash," the source said.
Despite repeated attempts to get the money from Thakkar's family, Shah was unsuccessful. He then approached the police. "We have booked a complaint against Thakkar. Investigations are on and we are trying to trace him. As of now, we have no clue about his whereabouts," said assistant police inspector LG Shinde of the Kandivli police station.
Shah said he was doing everything to get his money back. "I cannot give you more details," he said. "We sold the apartment long back to another party," said Shetty. The actress said she had nothing to do with Shah and had returned his money.
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