Faith & Fraud: How Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal Operates Beyond The Law
Using money and muscle power, trustees silence dissenters and law-enforcing agencies to amass a colossal personal fortune. And what’s the Ambani connection?
Unmesh Gujarathi
Sprouts News Exclusive
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Behind the devotion and festive grandeur at Mumbai’s most-visited and most popular Ganesh pandal is a brutal truth – a history of intimidation, muscle power and corruption that would disappoint the millions of devotees who line up here for hours to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha.
Unmesh Gujarathi, now Editor-in-Chief of Sprouts newspaper was the first to speak up against the corruption running into thousands of crores of rupees by the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganesh Utsav Mandal. Instead of putting their house in order, the mandal, or trust, has taken us to court and consistently used fear as a weapon to silence dissent.
For the last nine years, every time Unmesh Gujarathi has presented himself in court for hearings in two defamation cases filed by the mandal, its representatives arrive with a battery of lawyers and 25-30 volunteers as a terror tactic. But we are not afraid, we will not be silenced.
What started as a sarvajanik or community celebration of the Ganesh festival in 1894 has turned into an ungodly, multi-crore racket that unfolds at the feet of Ganapati Bappa at the Lalbaug pandal every year. Despite an order from the Charity Commissioner, there is absolutely no transparency in the annual auction of gold and jewellery donated by devotees, or the tens of crores of rupees raised through advertising and other contracts.
According to the law, the money must be deposited in the bank accounts of the trust that administers the Lalbaugcha Raja festivities. However, a large portion of the takings finds its way to individual committee members and their associates.
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All-Powerful Mandal
The mandal behind the Lalbaugcha Raja spectacle is above the law, or so it would seem. For 10 days, every year, the trust has the city administration doing its bidding, having paid large sums as bribes to senior civic officials, the police brass, railway administration, the media, and even neighbouring Ganesh mandals, so that their well-oiled operation is not derailed in any way.
They don’t stop there. The mandal has no qualms about manipulating the devotion of the millions of devotees who converge at the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal to seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha, and to express their gratitude for wishes granted. In return, devotees make votive offerings of gold, jewellery, precious stones and cash at the pandal. Although the trust claims it uses the proceeds of the auction and the cash they collect to build public amenities for the local community, much of it is cornered by members of the mandal themselves.
Who will bell the cat?
Numerous complaints have been registered with the Economic Offenses Wing and Enforcement Directorate, but no action has been taken against the mandal. Since 2005, social activist Mahesh Vengurlekar has been consistently demanding a thorough investigation into the affairs of the trust, while Unmesh Gujarathi has published many investigative reports since 2010, exposing the mandal’s dirty dealings. As a result, the mandal has filed a defamation suit against Unmesh Gujarathi in the Sewri Court and another in the Bombay High Court.
In August 2016, after public pressure escalated to censure Mumbai’s most high-profile Ganesh mandal, the Governor wrote to the state Department of Legal Affairs, which instructed the Charity Commissioner to conduct an investigation and submit an inquiry report. The Charity Commissioner then issued an order on January 1, 2017, directing financial transparency and scrutiny of the financial dealings of the mandal. This was official acknowledgement of the corruption that riddles one of Mumbai’s most high-profile Ganesh mandals.
‘Ambani Raja’ venerated
Sadly, what started as a vibrant festive celebration in a Mumbai locality decades ago has turned into a vulgar display of ostentation and unrestrained power. Then, on Friday, Lalbaugcha Raja went corporate. When the first look of the heavily ornamented, 12-foot-tall Lalbaugcha Raja was revealed on day one of the festival, Mumbai was stunned to see a gold crown atop the idol. It had been donated by Anant Ambani, son of Reliance Industries chairperson, Mukesh Ambani, one of the richest men in the world. The 20-kg crown, valued at Rs 15 crore, was not the only overt Ambani connection with the mandal – Anant has also been nominated as an honorary member of the trust.
The Amabnis’ association with Lalbaugcha Raja is well known – the family pays their respects at the pandal every year and regularly donates to the trust’s supposed public service activities. But there’s more to it than meets the eye. For a corporate known for its Midas touch, and making money at any cost, the Lalbaug mandal presents the perfect conduit for money laundering, among other unauthorised activities.
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Who is Sudhir Salvi?
The focal point of the mandal’s operations is Sudhir Salvi, Honorary Secretary of the trust, a post he has held since 2005. Sources say that Salvi runs the mandal as his personal fiefdom, a Lalbaugcha Raja in his own right!
A resident of Sewri, Salvi has risen up the ranks in local politics and learnt the rules of the game early. The son of a mill worker, Salvi aligned with Dagdu Sakpal, then the local Member of the Legislative Assembly. Sakpal was a school dropout and Salvi, who was better educated, proved a worthy assistant. Soon, Salvi began to leverage their association to advance his personal goals.
With Sakpal’s help, Salvi started cornering all sorts of contracts in his mentor’s constituency. Together, they floated a company called ‘Gajanan Construction’. That’s when Sakpal and Salvi started working for the Lalbaugcha Raja Mandal. Pushing his way forward, a canny Salvi was appointed Honorary Secretary of the mandal in 2005, a position he has since used to consistently enhance his personal fortune.
The ‘Sprouts’ team made several attempts to contact Sudhir Salvi for comment, but he did not respond.
