Gautam Singhania, caught in marital acrimony, announces separat…

Mumbai: Gautam Hari Singhania, chairman and managing director of Raymond Group, announced on Monday that he had separated from his wife and partner of 32 years, Nawaz Modi Singhania, bringing the curtain down on a bitter marital spat that has consumed the attention of Mumbai’s swish set for the last two months.

Singhania’s announcement through a post on Instagram came a day after a series of videos posted by Nawaz Modi-Singhania sitting on a dharna outside the gates of JK Gram in Thane gained wide circulation. She claimed in the videos that the security at the Singhania headquarter had refused her entry into a Diwali party hosted by her husband, and to which she had been invited. Modi-Singhania who arrived for the party in a wheel chair can be heard speaking on camera saying the refusal by the security staff was the last straw “with everything that I have been through and kept quiet about all this time.”

Modi-Singhania has alleged that Gautam Singhania physically assaulted her on his 58th birthday in September which landed her in the ICU of the Sir HN Reliance Hospital with broken bones in her lower back. The couple have since been estranged with the fight now heading to mediators for division of assets. The Raymond Group is a ₹5700 crore company and Nawaz Modi-Singhania is a director in at least 10 of the private and publicly-listed companies of the Singhania family.

In her complaint to the Vartak Nagar police in Thane, Nawaz told the police that Singhania had not just misbehaved with his parents and siblings in the past but that he had physically assaulted her at their house two months ago leading to her hospitalisation. In her complaint she also told the police that she was now worried about the future of her two minor daughters. The Vartak police later told HT that they had taken her complaint as routine procedure and any action would be pursuant to an investigation.

The day after the incident at JK Gram, Singhania who has been focusing on expanding his realty business, announced the news of their separation. “This Diwali is not going to be the same as many in the past. 32 years of being together as a couple, growing as parents and always being source of strength for each other... We traversed with commitment, resolve, faith, as along came the two most beautiful additions of our life. It is my belief that Nawaz and I will pursue different paths from here. I am parting ways with her while we continue to do what is the best for our two precious diamonds, Niharika and Nisa,” he said referring to their daughters.

While Gautam Singhania remained unavailable for further comment, Nawaz Modi-Singhania said her first priority was her two daughters and that she was seeking all possible legal help.

Amar Universal Private Limited, the entity operating the cold storage, had stored 2,87,851 kgs of food products, including Almond kernels, Star Aniseeds, and pulses like Red Kidney beans (Rajma) and American Beans (Chawli). The FDA initiated the action after receiving information that the facility was stockpiling expired and adulterated products intended for export

Assistant Commissioner G.V Jagtap stated, “The premises were found to be unclean and not adhering to various guidelines of the Food Safety and Standards Act - 2006 (FSSA). Preliminary investigations revealed that the entire stock of almonds and pulses had expired, rendering them unfit for consumption. Labels on the boxes clearly indicated their expired status.”

The confiscated items, posing safety hazards to consumers, were sent for further testing in Mumbai. The FDA Commissioner emphasised that samples from each product category would undergo laboratory analysis to determine their quality and safety standards.

The FDA is taking stringent action, including issuing notices to the owners of the stock, based on the laboratory report. Residents are urged to be vigilant, and the FDA has established a toll-free number 1800-222-365 for citizens to report malpractices and ensure the quality of food available in the market.

The deceased have been identified as Navin Rao, 19, engineering student and Rohit Shah, 23, BA student, who lived in the same vicinity in Katai village, Bhiwandi.

According to the police, the incident occurred at Talavli Naka when Rao and Shah along with their two younger brothers, aged between 10 and 12, left home around 9.30 am to prepare for the procession for the Chhatt puja on November 18.

While the duo was engaged in their work, both of their brothers went to the edge of the lake to take a dip, but due to the muddy water near the lake, they got stuck and started to drown.

Rao and Shah jumped into the lake and lifted both out of the lake, but in the process, both got stuck in the muddy water and drowned.

They were taken to Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital for post-mortem before the bodies were handed over to their family members for final rites, the police said.

Shivaji Mote, Police Sub Inspector, Nizampura Police Station said, “We rushed to the spot and pulled them out from the lake and took them to the hospital, but they were announced dead before arrival. We learned that the duo jumped into the water after realising that their younger brothers were stuck in the quicksand and were drowning. However, the two youths failed to get off and drowned.”

Singhania’s announcement through a post on Instagram came a day after a series of videos posted by Nawaz Modi-Singhania sitting on a dharna outside the gates of JK Gram in Thane gained wide circulation (HT Archives)