Afternoon news

• Alleges Vakola police are not helping her nor following court order

Mumbai, Oct 6: Sky-rocketing real estate prices in the city have become a problem for the family of Dorothy D’Souza (45), widow of Sebastian, a motor mechanic.

The family is surviving on the income of the garage which was left behind by her husband when he died in May 2003. But since two months, builders and the caretaker of the land are forcing the D’Souza family to vacate the garage which is situated at Lobo Chawl, CST, Kalina.

They have also kept goons in the garage who are not allowing the mechanics and D’Souzas to enter the premises.

Dorothy said, “I am a widow and mother of four children who are studying and we are totally dependent on the income from the garage. I cannot fight with the goons without the police’s help. So I obtained a stay from the Sessions Court but caretaker Joaquim Lobo and builder Deepak Mehta threatened me and are not letting me enter my garage. I have registered five complaints with the police but they have not taken any action.”

According to her, despite the stay by the court there are constructions going on at the property and the builder has also put a gate and two lorries of sand in the garage. A couple of days ago the goons beat up a customer and the mechanics also. The goons are always at the garage and don’t allow the D’Souzas to enter.

Uttam Navghare, senior inspector at Vakola Police Station, said, “We can’t do anything so we have asked both the parties to keep peace and solve the matter in court as she has filed only a non-cognizable offence case. As far as the constructions are concerned, I have no information.” Whereas Bipin Bihari, Additional Commissioner of Police (Western Region), said, “I have no information in this case. If I get, I will take action.”

The bad days of the D’Souza family started when A. H. Wadia, the original owner of the premises, sold the land for development. Dorothy was offered Rs. 1 lac to vacate but she demanded a plot instead of money as the amount the developer was ready to pay was not sufficient.

Dorothy said that since the day she refused the offer she has been threatened by the goons and till now she has registered six non-cognizable offences with the Vakola police but they didn’t take any action. She also alleged that instead of helping her the police advised her to vacate the garage for Rs. 1 lakh because she is a woman and won’t be able to fight with them.

According to the rules when a stay order is passed by the court, the police are bound to enforce the court order and it is seen that after three consecutive NCs the police forward the file of the accused to the Assistant Commissioner of Police of the zone who later externs such accused. But in the case of the D’Souza family, no action has been taken as yet.