Mumbai builder gets jailed after 31 years

Thirty-one years after a builder cheated the government by not handing over all 12 flats as was agreed upon under the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA) for permission to carry out construction in a Dahisar land, he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment last week. While the builder, Harishankar Kayal, had handed over only three flats to the government, the remaining nine, along with other apartments in his possession, were sold to buyers. Finding the accused guilty of criminal breach of trust and cheating, the magistrate court held, "I have come to the conclusion that the property was handed over to the accused who sold it in the open market and obtained consideration with fraudulent intention. Therefore, the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt the offence against the accused."