Deceased builder had written to Thane collector about harassment, claims friend

MUMBAI: A month before his death, Thane builder Amar Bhatia had reportedly written to Thane district collector Ashwini Joshi about some harassment, and threatened to kill himself if action was not taken on the complaint. Bhatia’s body was found on early on Sunday on the railway track between Ambernath and Badlapur, hours after he went missing on Saturday.
Talking to TOI, a close friend of Bhatia who did not wished to be named said Bhatia was facing some issues in a project and had complained about the same in a letter to Joshi, giving her a month to act on the complaint, failing which he had threatened to kill himself.“I don’t know exactly what the problem was and do not believe that he will take such an extreme step, but chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should take cognizance of the matter and the probe should be handed over to some higher authority,” the friend said. Another source said Bhatia was being harassed by officials of Badlapur-Kulgaon Municipal Council, where his project Mohan Willows was under construction. Some of Bhatia’s Facebook posts last month also hinted that he was concerned about some issues.
However, Joshi denied receiving any letter from Bhatia, adding she would have definitely acted on his complaint if she knew about it.
Bhatia’s family was still in a state of shock and did not speak to the media. However, close friends and relatives suspected foul play in his death. “Amar was a very good person and he would motivate others. He would not commit suicide over a petty issue. There might be some government or any other pressure related to his project which may have led him to take such an extreme step and it should be properly investigated,” said Ram Wadhwa, a developer and neighbor of the Bhatias.
Another friend said Bhatia, who was living in Kalyan for quite a few years, had only last year shifted to his old flat in Ulhasnagar after his grandmother’s death. He said Bhatia recently again planned to shift back to the Kalyan flat and even started its renovation and bought a Harley-Davidson bike costing over Rs 8 lakh, which suggests that he was financially sound.
Bhatia’s death comes barely a few months after that of another Thane-based builder, Suraj Parmar, in October 2015. Parmar had however shot himself and left a suicide note. Developers were in shock and said the government must act immediately to stop the harassment of builders by civic bodies and corporators, or many more deaths would follow. A developer said getting a plan sanctioned was very difficult and officials had to be bribed or they create obstacles in a project.
The Kalyan GRP, which is probing the case, visited Bhatia’s residence on Monday to record his family’s statement but could not do so as the family was still in trauma. “The probe will cover all angles, including whether Bhatia was harassed by anybody or if he had some family dispute,” said Rupali Ambure, deputy commissioner of police, Central Railway. GRP sources said they are also checking call records and messages sent by Bhatia before the incident.