Mumbai, Jan 29 (IANS): A woman fugitive, who was wanted in more than 23 criminal cases of cheating in Delhi and Haryana, including Gurugram-Manesar industrial model township land grab scam, was arrested from Mumbai by a team of Delhi's Crime Branch, officials said on Sunday.

Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) said that the accused was identified as Sona Bansal.

"The team of ARSC, Crime Branch meticulously worked on detecting the most wanted fugitive couple. Inspector Arun Sindhu got a tip off about the accused who was hiding in Mumbai. The information was developed and the team was sent to Mumbai.

"A raid was conducted in a high end society in Mumbai and Sona Bansal was arrested from there. Her husband Atul Bansal was not found there and his whereabouts are being ascertained. Though both are natives of Delhi, they had been residing there with the assumed identities of Mrs. Sulochana and Arun Gupta prepared fake and forged documents," said the police.

During interrogation, she claimed that her husband died a few years ago but she has failed as of now to prove her claims.

What is the case?

Accused Atul Bansal and his wife Sona Bansal were wanted in several high profile white collar economic crimes, including the 'Gurugram-Manesar Industrial Model Township Land Grab Scam' amounting to Rs 1,500 crore. Both were the directors of the builder firm named after their son 'Aditya Build Well (ABW) Infrastructure Limited'.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of the FIR registered at Manesar police station, Gurugram and thereafter investigation was taken up by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), against them.

Several alleged persons, including Atul Bansal and his wife Sona Bansal of ABW Infrastructure Limited, were charge-sheeted by the ED which found in its probe that the accused grabbed the land from farmers and land-holders at nominal rates by instilling in them the fear of acquisition of their land.

Believing the accused and under the fear of losing their land to acquisition, the farmers and land holders sold their lands to such private entities, who ultimately sold the same to various builders, who obtained licences and gained handsome profits in a fraudulent manner.

Most of the land parcels were purchased by ABW Infrastructure Ltd. group, which were controlled by Atul Bansal, Sona Bansal and others. After obtaining licenses, A.B.W. Infrastructure Limited further sold the licensed/unlicensed lands and building licences to some private persons.

The CBI also registered a criminal case against the accused persons in September, 2015 for duping farmers and grabbing their 400 acres land at throw away prices. At that time, the land was valued at around Rs 1,600 crore, but the same were bought by the alleged builders for around Rs 100 crore only.

In 2018, the Panchkula Court declared them Proclaimed Offenders. Cash reward of Rs 50,000 was also declared by Delhi Police on her arrest

Apart from this land scam, the firm also did not deliver any of its projects to the buyers.