23rd JULY 2015 SHIRIN BABURAO PATEL ( 2nd)
B-TOWN BUNGALOW MIRED IN DISPUTE
— By | Aug 13, 2014 12:19 am
Hours after actress and singer Sushilarani’s death, a woman calling herself the grand-daughter of Baburao Patel’s second wife, occupied the first floor of the bungalow Girnar, sparking a row
Mumbai : Within a week of actress and singer Sushilarani Patel’s death, the Pali Hill bungalow which was her home for half a century has become the scene of a sordid succession drama.
Some hours after her death on July 24, a woman named Geeta Patel D’Souza, who calls herself the grand-daughter of Baburao Patel’s second wife, Shirin Patel, occupied the first floor of the bungalow, Girnar. Sushilarani married Baburao Patel, a film producer and journalist, in 1945. She was his third wife and they had no children.
While Sushilarani lived on the first floor of the stately bungalow, the ground floor was used by the Sushilarani Baburao Patel Trust, which conducted music, dance and yoga classes. The bungalow was used in the shooting of the evergreen Kishore Kumar movie, ‘Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi’.
The trustees complained to the Khar police about Geeta but were sent back by the cops who said that they could not do anything since the matter was in court. Geeta had filed a suit in the high court in 2011 claiming that she owned the bungalow.
The trustees say Baburao had settled all the claims and had willed the bungalow to Sushilarani, who formed the trust in 1989. “Geeta has been disturbing our classes and yelling at us to move out of the bungalow,’’ said Neela Shinde, chairperson of the trust.
On Tuesday morning, Geeta allegedly abused and hit a trustee named Ranjana and her husband Ramji. “Geeta grabbed me by my hair and kicked me. Her sister-in-law Chandan D’Souza beat up my husband when we came there on hearing that Geeta was creating a scene at the yoga classes,’’ said Ranjana. They approached Khar police station which registered it as a non-cognisable case.
Geeta was summoned at the police station too. However, at 12.30 pm on Tuesday, she allegedly locked the gates trapping the yoga teacher, Pradish Raj, and the caretaker, Kartik Ramachandran, inside, while Sushilarani’s maid Maria and the watchmen were pushed outside. “Geeta had brought two men with her who were also telling us to get out. Karthik and I were locked inside until the police came and rescued us,” said Raj.
Asked for her version, Geeta said, “I won’t stoop so low. For all you know, they might just end up saying I did cartwheels on them. All of the trustees are just delusional.”
“We have no interest in acquiring the property. We are simply following what Sushilaji has told us in her will and that is to take care of this property and carry out the cultural activities there. I was never directed to hand over the keys of the house to someone else,” said Shinde.
Sindhu J Mansukhani
Cops tell ‘interloper’ to behave
— By | Aug 14, 2014 12:20 am
Mumbai : A day after trustees of the Sushilarani Baburao Patel Trust complained that a woman claiming to be the heir to Sushilarani’s bungalow, beat them up and locked them out, the Khar police has told her to behave and is sending a report to the High Court.
The High Court is to hear a suit filed by the claimant, Geeta Patel D’Souza, later this month. Geeta occupied the first floor of the 900-sq ft Girnar bungalow when Sushilarani died on July 24. She claims to be the grand daughter of Baburao Patel from his second wife, Shirin.
The trustees say that Geeta has been harassing them so that they vacate the ground floor where they run yoga and music classes.
“Since we cannot take any action against Geeta, we are going to send a report of the exact events to the high court,” said Senior Police Inspector of Khar police station, Dattatray Bhargude. A non-congnisable complaint was registered at the police station on Tuesday after Geeta allegedly beat up a trustee, Ranjana and her husband Ramji.
On Wednesday, chairperson of the Sushilarani Baburao Patel Trust, Neela Shinde, broke open the lock put by Geeta on the bungalow’s gate.
“Geeta said she did not have the keys, so I broke the locks to get our cars outside,” said Shinde. According to her, Geeta had locked all the entrances of the bungalow in an attempt to intimidate the trustees who hold cultural events there.
Sushilarani had willed her bungalow to the trust.
“We have important documents, Sushilaji’s jewellery and cash on that floor. What if she destroys them?” said Shinde. However, the police has been reluctant to interfere in the matter as it is a civil matter and is being currently being heard in the high court.
Geeta had filed a suit for the ownership of the bungalow in 2011, which was opposed by Sushilarani. After the latter’s demise, the trustees have been fighting the battle in high court, which has ordered a status quo saying that the bungalow belongs to the trust. “After she broke the status quo on Tuesday we gave Geeta a warning. If she repeats her actions, the high court will take proper action against her,” Bhargude said.
Geeta has alleged that Neela Shinde, Ranjana and Radhika Nayak are not trustees of Sushilarani trust. The police have asked them to submit proof of the same. The police will then forward the documents to the Charity Commission for examination.
The trust carried out its usual yoga classes on the ground floor of the bungalow on Wednesday without any disturbance. Meanwhile, Shinde has also set in motion the process to apply for an emergency chambers hearing with Justice R D Dhanuka. “We are keeping ourselves ready for an emergency hearing in case she does anything,” said Shinde, a Kathak dancer and a social worker from Bandra. She has been the chairperson of the trust since 2010.
Sindhu Mansukhani
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Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anil Kapoor and classical musician Sushila Rani Patel at the book launch
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Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anil Kapoor and classical musician Sushila Rani Patel at the book launch
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Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anil Kapoor and classical musician Sushila Rani Patel at the book launch
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