MUMBAI, Jan. 22 -- A case of alleged encroachment on church property in Bandra West has led the police to book two priests for trespassing, theft and criminal intimidation on a complaint by the alleged encroacher, a local fish seller who runs a construction business. The Bandra police on Monday booked Father Vernon Aguiar and Father Sunder Albuquerque of the Mount Mary Basilica, after a First Information Report (FIR) was registered on orders of a local court hearing the case. Police said no arrests have been made and an investigation is underway. Both the church and the complainant, Robinson Nelson Gonsalves, 56, are locked in a legal battle over the alleged encroachment, with the church having approached the Bombay High Court, stating that Gonsalves has encroached its land. Gonsalves, however, alleges that the priests and three security guards had stolen an iron signboard, an iron gate and some construction materials belonging to him on the plot. When he inquired about the alleged theft, he claims he and his family were threatened. He also claims the police did not address his complaint and hence he approached a local court, in March 2025. In his statement to the police on Monday, Gonsalves claimed he had employed Hasan Sheikh to guard the plot and construction material he had stored on it. He alleged that on March 11, 2025, Sheikh had informed him that the iron gate on the plot was missing. Sheikh also claimed to have seen a goods tempo at the location, in which the iron gate and construction materials had been loaded. Gonsalves alleges that Father Aguiar and Father Albuquerque were present at the time. Gonsalves also stated that a uniformed security guard and two men in plainclothes were loading the tempo and drove off with his materials. He claims that on the instructions of Father Aguiar, an iron signboard bearing his name and indicating ownership was also removed. Based on the court order, police have booked the two priests and the three other individuals under sections 303 (theft), 329 (trespassing) and 351 (threatening) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. "We are scanning CCTV footage and will ascertain what exactly happened," said a police officer from the Bandra police station. Father Albuquerque told HT, "The land in question belongs to the church. The iron gate too belongs to the church and we were clearing it out. Mr Gonsalves is, in fact, an encroacher." Elaborating on the legal battle, a spokesperson for the basilica told HT, "We have just been made aware of the FIR filed by Robin Nelson Gonsalves against two of our priests, pertaining to land belonging to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount. The FIR seems to have been registered pursuant to a complaint made before the learned Metropolitan Magistrate at Bandra purportedly filed on 14-05-2025 pertaining to property belonging to the Church." The spokesperson added, "Robin has been trying multiple tactics to grab the property, and multiple FIRs have been filed against him. The Church has also filed a suit in the Hon'ble High Court to protect the Church rights. At the hearing of our interim application on 05.05.2025, the Hon'ble High Court recorded the statement of Robin that he is not dealing with the property and directed the status quo as on that day to be maintained." He added, "We are unaware if Robin has informed the learned Magistrate or the police of the high court order. We are in the process of gathering further information about the purported complaint and will be taking appropriate legal action. We refrain from commenting further as the matter is sub judice."...