Most frequently clicked face at temple auctions is a fraud

A stockbroker by profession Pradeep Bhavnani is better known for his largesse and flamboyant displays of it at Ganpati temples and pandals in the city But going by what Bandrabased businessman Dwarka Hiranandani and temple authorities say this facade of generosity is merely a front for fraudulent business methods and unfulfilled promises The latter has even lodged an FIR against the philanthropist under Section 420 cheating of the IPC One of the necklaces he bid for at the Siddhivinayak auction in March File pics Charity cheat Bhavnani poses with the gold football and modak that he won the bid for at the Lalbaugcha Raja auction in October this year Bhavnani who has often made it to the headlines thanks to his morethan generous spiritual offerings had recently even spoken of buying a 249 per cent stake in Kingfisher Airlines and his equally grandiose plans of purchasing Mahatma Gandhirsquos house in South Africa March 5 2012 March 12 2012 October 8 2012 July 30 2009 At the annual Lalbaugcha Raja auction this year Bhavnani bid a staggering Rs 65 lakh for gold moulded in the shape of modak a lotus and a football Rajendra Lanjwal treasurer of Lalbaugcha Raja said ldquoThis year he bid Rs 65 lakh for gold valuables But after posing for photographs in front of the media he never came back to pay for the gold valuables The gold valuables are still with us We tried calling him several times but he never repliedrdquo In an auction held in March this year at Siddhivinayak temple Bhavnani had called the press where he lsquoboughtrsquo gold valuables worth Rs 10 lakh and promised to return it to the temple as donation lsquoDevotee buys gold at auction donates it backrsquo March 5 2012 MiD DAY Satish Mali deputy executive officer of the Temple Trust said ldquoIn front of the press Bhavnani had promised to donate the gold for a better cause but after the auction he did not even come to purchase the gold The gold ornament was with us for a long time After repeated calls he finally came and paid for the gold ornamentsrdquo Hiranandanirsquos story is equally damning A few weeks ago the businessman filed an FIR against Bhavnani in a cheating case at Khar police station alleging that the latter owes him Rs 5 lakh The 56yearold resident of Bandra West said ldquoIn 2006 I met Bhavnani through a relative We met several times after that and I even visited his office I saw several photographs of him with influential people I was impressed with his lifestyle and his communications skillsrdquo In 2006 Bhavnani called Hiranandani with the offer that he could buy 10000 shares of his company would get double returns in a monthrsquos time Hiranandani said ldquoHe told me that I had to pay Rs 525500 to get double Since I was acquainted with him I readily paid him the money by cheque It was delivered to him the next day but since then I have never received a single rupeerdquo After this Hiranandani approached him several times asking for his money back but to no avail In January this year Hiranandani approached Khar police Based on his complaint Bhavnani was called to the station and his statement was taken in which he gave the assurance that he would return the money in a few months time This too never happened Hiranandani said ldquoIn recent times I have seen him bidding for Kingfisher buying costly gold ornaments from temples I want people to be aware that Bhavnani is a fraud and a cheat He has so much money for all this publicity but no money to pay his duesrdquo Senior Police Inspector Mangesh Pote of Khar police station said ldquoA case has been registered against Bhavnani under Section 420 of the IPC The matter is under investigation and I cannot disclose any further detailsrdquo Hiranandani added ldquoTwo months back I called him and asked about my money and my plans of filing a criminal case against him He replied lsquoYou donrsquot know who I am and how big my contacts are You now will be in big troublersquo But I donrsquot fear such threats from himrdquo Bhavnani could not be reached for comment on either his personal numbers or his many office telephone numbersu00a0