Bhubaneswar, May 16 (IANS): Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Odisha police on Tuesday arrested a builder for allegedly duping 127 investors of Rs 15 crore, officials said.

Accused Jyoti Ranjan Mishra, managing director of real estate company Mishra Creations Pvt. Ltd. Mishra had cheated complainant Swadesh Ray Chaudhury as well as other investors in the name of giving flats in his project 'Utopia' at Chandaka in the outskirts of Bhubaneswar.

Chaudhury has booked a flat in the above said project in the year 2016 and paid an advance of Rs 16 lakhs to Mishra. As per agreement, the flat was to be handed over within 30 months, but till date, neither the real estate firm handed over him the flat nor he was refunded the invested amount, the officials said.

The accused Mishra has collected amounts to the tune of Rs 15 crore from 127 investors from 2016 onwards promising them flats in the Utopia project. The real estate company was to hand over the flats within 30 months of booking.

The investors were made to enter into a tripartite agreement for financing with the banks and many of them paid almost 95 per cent of the total cost of the flats. However, the real estate company did not hand over any single flat to the investors even after the elapse of 8 years, they said.

The officials also said that Mishra was giving false assurance to deliver the flat from time to time under different pretexts. The EWO has seized some incriminating documents from the builder and forwarded him to court.