A case of fraud involving crores of rupees under the guise of flats has come to light in Shimla, the capital. Police have registered a case against a builder/developer based on a complaint from Gurbachan Singh Banga, a resident of Mohali, near Chandigarh.
The complainant told police that on April 11, 2014, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between him and Rajdeep Sharma, Managing Director of Panchkula-based Rajdeep & Company Infrastructure Private Limited. Under this agreement, a project was set to construct and sell flats on 1,416.80 square meters of land in Kaleston, Shimla’s Bharari area. The total project price was set at ₹7 crore (70 million rupees).
According to the complaint, Rajdeep Sharma initially paid ₹50 lakh (50 million rupees) as advance and secured the allotment of 18 flats in his name. However, he neither paid the remaining ₹65 million (65 million rupees) nor handed over possession of the flats to the complainant. To complete the payment formalities, the accused issued several checks, but later withdrew them and replaced them with new checks with undated and lower amounts.
The complainant alleges that Rajdeep Sharma deliberately acted with intent to defraud and subsequently sold the same flats to a third party. This was not only against the terms of the MoU, but also in violation of the affidavit submitted by the accused on May 9, 2014, in which he stated his commitment to abide by the agreement.
Gurbachan Singh Banga states that he has received only approximately ₹23.6 million (approximately ₹22.3 million), while approximately ₹52.3 million (approximately ₹52.3 million) including interest is still outstanding. He alleges that the accused entered into this entire transaction with the intention of defrauding him, causing him losses worth crores.
The Sadar police station has registered a case against the accused under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code and has initiated an investigation. A police officer said that in this case, documents related to financial transactions and flat sale will be scrutinized.
