Khosla ka Ghosla? Woman ‘locked out’ of Andheri flat Possessions Cleared While She Was In Bangalore: Cop Complaint S Ahmed Ali TNN  May 1, 2014     A46-year old woman has filed a complaint with the Amboli police, alleging that her apartment in Andheri (West) was broken into and taken over while she was away attending a relative’s funeral in Bangalore.     Tanveer Shariff, an Arabic teacher and a divorcee, said she left for Bangalore on March 29. On April 16, according to the police complaint, she got a call from her domestic help, informing that “somebody had forcibly entered her one-room-kitchen flat” in Sai Chaya Cooperative Housing Society at Azad Nagar. The help said “all of Shariff ’s possessions had been loaded into a tempo”.     Shariff said she flew to Mumbai the same day. “I consulted my lawyer and called up the police control room. By the time Amboli police arrived, my furniture, electronics and ornaments worth Rs 14 lakh had been hauled away. One Vijay Patil, whom I had bought the house from, had taken its possession, claiming he was the flat owner,” Shariff said. She added that she slept in the veranda for two days and is now shuffling from one friend’s house to another. Patil refuted Shariff ’s version. “I don’t know who Tanveer is. I had given my flat on rent to Sudhir Pothari for the last five years. On April 16, Pothari took away his goods in a tempo and I took back the apartment’s possession,” claimed Patil. Shariff ’s advocate Vijay Thakur contended that Sudhir Pothari, a builder, owed Shariff Rs 7 lakh in 2006 and asked her to move into the Sai Chaya apartment. “A few months later, Pothari offered to sell her the 190-sq-ft flat if she gave another Rs 2 lakh. Once the amount was paid, Pothari made a sale agreement between my client and Vijay Patil. He promised to register the agreement, but never did,” said Thakur. Pothari could not be reached for comment on the allegation.     Sai Chaya society secretary Anand Sawant said, “Since 2007, neither Tanveer nor Patil have paid maintenance dues, although Tanveer was staying in the flat for years. On that day, her goods were taken away in a tempo. Neighbours noted down the vehicle’s licence number.” Madhuben, a Sai Chaya resident, added: “Tanveer has been staying in this building for the past several years.”     Shariff claimed that several of her documents, including Aadhar and ration cards, are registered on the address of the Sai Chaya flat. Also, she claimed, the flat’s electricity and telephone bills are sent in her name.     Investigating officer Prakash Sawant said, “Acting on Shariff ’s complaint, we have registered an FIR of trespassing and theft. We have traced the tempo driver and he has shown us the place in Dahanu where the goods were left. Both parties claim right over the flat. The case is being probed.” Shariff alleged that the police have “unofficially asked her to settle the case”.  WHILE BUYING PROPERTY… Speaking generally and without commenting on any specific case, legal experts stress that a few essential documents should be obtained during the purchase of an apartment:      A sale deed between the buyer and the seller establishes the contract between them for the sale     For it to be a valid document proving ownership, the agreement should be registered with the subregistrar of assurances after the payment of stamp duty     A copy of the agreement should be provided to the housing society, which issues a share certificate to the purchaser once a fee as per its bylaw has been paid     The sale deed records the flow of the title of the property to the buyer     The primary document required in law to prove ownership is the registered sale deed. A share certificate alone does not demonstrate ownership; if it is not issued, it does not necessarily mean that the buyer is not the legal owner Tanveer Shariff (inset) says she had been staying in a flat in Sai Chaya society (above) at Azad Nagar for years