Click Antilia for trouble

Cop seizes student*s cell, asks for bribe for trying to click city*s newest landmark, Mukesh Ambani*s mansion. This can happen to you

Even though Mukesh Ambani has built a mansion that has become the latest Mumbai landmark, clicking a picture of it for posterity may well land you in trouble.

Fourth-year law student Dharmin Sampat (23) from Ghatkopar (E) learnt this lesson the hard way when an alert policeman caught him doing so and wanted to take him to his superiors for questioning.

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The 27-storey Antilia building constructed by Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani at Altamount Road

According to Sampat, he had partly rolled down the window of his car to click pictures when a policeman thought his behaviour was suspicious and approached him.

Trying to capture Antilia, business tycoon Mukesh Ambani*s new 27-storey Altamount Road mansion, on camera may get you into trouble with the police.

Fourth-year law student Dharmin Sampat (23), from Ghatkopar (E) learnt this lesson the hard way when an alert policeman caught him doing so and wanted to take him to his superiors for questioning.

According to Sampat, he had partly rolled down the window of his car as the air conditioner was on and the tinted windows were making it difficult for him to click pictures.

He had put his cellphone out when the policeman thought his behaviour was suspicious and approached him.

"I had clicked the first shot and was attempting to click another when a policeman in uniform came close to my car and asked *Idhar kya kar raha hai*. I thought he was objecting to the tinted windows," Sampat said.

"But before I could clarify, he said, *Photo kyon kheech raha hai, photo kheechna mana hai* and took the mobile phone from me.
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I tried to persuade him, but he was adamant and kept insisting that I should accompany him to his superior, pointing towards a police van parked nearby," he added.

"I was shocked. There was no notice board which said photography was prohibited," Sampat recalled.

He claimed that the policeman asked for a bribe initially but then returned his cellphone and let him go after a lot of begging and cajoling.
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"The constable was co-operative and did not take me to his superior, he left the place soon after," he said.

Justifying his decision to click pictures of Antilia, Sampat said the images would have helped his friends, who are doing a course in architecture.

"I have read that Antilia is one of the most architecturally sound structures in the country. I thought my friends would be interested in learning about it.

But now, I have cautioned my friends against clicking pictures of it and have decided not to repeat the mistake myself as well," he said.

Asked whether he had taken down any details of the policeman, Sampat said the thought didn*t strike him as he was caught by a policeman for the first time and was scared.

A local said that the entire stretch of Altamount Road has a strong police bandobast even on normal days as the Japanese, South African, Indonesian and Belgian consulates are in the vicinity.

600
The number of staff members at the new Ambani home

RS 70 lakh
The amount the house generated as its electricity bill in one month

570 feet
The height of the 27-storey building

Richie Rich
Antilia is both the most expensive and the most spacious house in the world. It has the distinction of being the world*s first billion-dollar home and took nearly four years to complete. Nita Ambani reportedly wanted to ensure that no two floors are alike in either plans or materials used and, thus, a particular type of wood used on the 16th floor, for example, has not been used again in any other floor.

The Other Side
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone) Anil Khumbare said, "The incident shows that our policemen were alert. Anybody found moving or acting in a suspicious manner is bound to be questioned, there is nothing wrong in it."
Representatives from Mukesh Ambani*s office could not be reached for comment.

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Number of consulates that are in the vicinity of the mansion ufffd Japan, South Africa, Indonesia and Belgiumu00a0