Baba Siddique murder | Why Mumbai cops are probing slum rehab project link

Though the alleged role of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang has been hogging the limelight in the Baba Siddique murder case, media reports suggest that the Mumbai police are also looking into the role of a well-known city-based builder.

Apart from being a senior political leader, Siddique was a successful businessman with a primary interest in real estate. He came to be regarded as Bandra’s real estate king in the last couple of decades or so.

Media reports, quoting Mumbai police sources, said a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project was “very close to Baba Siddique and he was very vocal about it”.

Resented projects in BKC

Siddique and his son Congress MLA Zeeshan had been protesting against two slum redevelopment projects — Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar and Bharat Nagar — in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) over the last six to eight months.

BKC is one of the country’s most expensive real estate micro markets. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) recently invited bids for leasing out seven plots at BKC with a total reserve price pegged at nearly Rs 6,000 crore.

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Local media outlets had reported that Siddique was objecting to the project as the people living in the shanties “were kept in the dark about the size of the homes” that they would receive post-redevelopment.

Even as the police have said that they have no conclusive evidence so far, they are verifying claims that the builder under scanner paid the gang for the NCP leader’s contract killing. This also worked for Bishnoi as he too considered Siddique his enemy due to his close proximity to Bollywood megastar Salman Khan who prominently featured on his hit list.

Adani Group in SRA project

Interestingly, Adani Group firm Budhpur Buildcon, along with Omkar Developers, is carrying out the redevelopment project in Bharat Nagar.

Though the project initially took off in 2006 when the Housing Development & Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) entered the fray by initially offering a “hefty” amount to the locals to vacate the plot, it got mired in multiple litigations. Later, the Adani Group made an entry and bagged the project.

Apart from the Siddiques, Congress MP from Mumbai North Central, Varsha Gaikwad, had also voiced her opposition to the project and demanded that Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) take it over, as against the SRA, as the ownership of the plot is with MHADA.

The Siddique father-son duo had pre-empted the demolition work in a section of Bharat Nagar, which was planned for September 30.

Obstructed SRA survey

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab has been promoting the redevelopment of Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar – a project that involves Valor Estate (erstwhile DB Realty) of the 2G scam acquitted Shahid Balwa, and Larsen & Toubro (L&T).

In July this year, the two firms declared that they would jointly develop a 10-acre land parcel housing 5,500 families to build a five-star luxury hotel, commercial spaces and premium housing, by rehabilitating the slum dwellers.

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Subsequently, Zeeshan Siddique, who is Bandra East MLA, reportedly stalled government officials from conducting a survey of the slum colony in August and was booked for obstructing the officials from discharging their duty.

Initially, the project was allotted to a developer who had obtained almost all necessary permissions by 2022. However, the SRA suddenly cancelled the original developer's project and awarded the redevelopment scheme to another developer.

Foray in real estate

Baba Siddique made his foray into real estate in early 2000. Vertical Developers was among his first ventures in partnership with developer Vinay Madnani and Kalpana Shah, which came into inception in August 2003.

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He quickly learned the tricks of the trade and floated his own venture along with his wife Shehzeen, named Zears Developers, in September 2004. He expanded his business in the prime Bandra area over the next two decades.

One of the early projects — Shiv Asthan Heights — was developed in Pali Village. He eventually took over redevelopment of around 30-40 buildings and projects, some of them slums, in and around Bandra-Khar belt, in partnership with other builders.

Landing in ED net

However, Siddique landed in trouble in 2018 when the Enforcement Directorate (ED) attached his assets worth Rs 462 crore in Bandra West area of Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after allegations surfaced about him misusing his position as MHADA chairman from 2000 to 2004 to help Pyramid Developers with a slum rehabilitation project.

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The ED’s investigation stemmed out of a 2014 case registered against Baba Siddique and 150 others by the Mumbai police based on a complaint filed by one, Abdul Salam, in 2012. In his complaint, Salam alleged irregularities in the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project.

As per the ED, the alleged scam was estimated to be worth over Rs 2,000 crore and the company, Pyramid Developers, was likely a front used by Siddique to funnel money into the project.

The complainant had approached a local court stating that the flats allotted in the residential buildings constructed after demolishing a slum in Bandra were granted on the basis of alleged fake documents. Siddique had denied allegations made against him in this case in the past.