Karishma Tanna’s husband and TV actor Samir Kochhar cheated of Rs 1.3 crore, police started investigation, ongoing investigation

Bollywood actress Karishma Tanna’s husband Varun Bangera and actor/TV presenter Sameer Kochhar have filed a complaint against a couple involved in real estate development business. The complaint states that Pronit Nath and Ameesha Nath allegedly defrauded him of Rs 1.3 crore.

In his complaint, Sameer Kochhar claimed that the persons defrauded him of ₹58.50 lakh while pretending to sell the apartment. Additionally, they allegedly defrauded his friend Varun Bangera of ₹44.66 lakh. The case filed on October 21, 2023, at Andheri police station includes charges under sections 409 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating and dishonesty), and 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the FIR, JVPD was searching the properties of Andheri West-based businessman Sameer Kochhar, along with his wife Radhika Kochhar and friend Varun Bangera in December 2020. He met Proneet Nath and Ameesha Nath, who planned to build a four-storey building in Pali village, Bandra West, with the intention of selling it later. Upon visiting the site, initially just vacant land, the Kochhars and Varun Bangera met Pronit Nath, who presented them with a building map outlining their plans. Subsequently, the Kochhars decided to buy a 660 sq ft flat on the third floor, while Bangera opted to buy a 750 sq ft flat on the fourth floor.

Later, during a meeting, Pronit assured them that the land was free of any debt, and the title was clear. The fixed price of Kochhar’s flat was fixed at ₹1.95 crore, and he paid a token amount of ₹11 lakh. The payment was made through a check issued from HDFC Bank on December 9, 2020. As for Bangeras, he had earlier presented a check of ₹19.85 lakh as a token amount in August 2020.

Later, the Kochhars and Bangera were surprised to find that the property they intended to buy had a loan on it, as Nath had mortgaged the land to a finance company. Despite his continuous inquiries about the progress of construction, Nath assured him on June 3, 2022 that the building would be completed within three months. However, the situation took an unexpected turn on June 23, 2023, when Nath informed Kochhar and Bangera through WhatsApp messages that he had decided not to sell the property and intended to retain it. This shocked the Kochhar couple and Bangera.

The FIR was filed in response to Nath’s communication through his lawyers in the high court, where he had said that he had already entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to sell the property to someone else. In an attempt to enforce the MOU, Kochhar approached the High Court seeking directions to Nath to proceed with the agreement. On July 26, Justice Kamal Khata issued a restraining order, barring Nath from selling the flat to any third party.

Nath challenged this decision before a division bench of the High Court. However, on October 5, a bench led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyay refused to interfere or overturn the single judge’s order that had restrained Nath from transferring ownership of the disputed flat.