The late ghazal legend Jagjit Singh and his wife Chitra Singh captured the 'middle-class house dream' in Mumbai through their song 'Yeh tera ghar yeh mera ghar'. But fact is stranger than fiction for Chitra Singh.
Singh and her grandson Armaan Chowdhury had paid approximately Rs 1.75 crore to a builder for two flats on the 10th floor of Pearl Goregaon in 2013. Singh was later informed by the builder that he had permission to construct only till the eighth floor. Singh cancelled the deal in 2015, but is yet to receive her money back. She alleged that the builder, Sai Siddhi Developers, gave her two cheques, and both were dishonoured. She approached the Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority (MahaRERA) with a complaint, however, it was dismissed in November 2017.
Singh said, "I am a single woman, a senior citizen and I am the wife of legendary singer Jagjit Singh, and this is happening with me. I got in touch with the developer via a friend and invested my life savings in two flats. There was no written agreement. Even the memorandum of understanding the developer wanted me to sign showed me as an investor. I am now planning to initiate criminal action against the developer and consulting people/lawyers for the same. I don't have so much money to afford the legal battle like a developer can."
When this paper contacted the developer's office, they said they shall revert, but there was no response as the directors were tied up in meetings.
