Daijiworld Media Network – Jodhpur
Jodhpur, Jun 16: In one of the biggest real estate frauds in recent times, two brothers from Rajasthan’s Sikar district – Subhash and Ranveer Bijarani – allegedly cheated around 70,000 investors of a staggering Rs 2,676 cr through their company, Nexa Evergreen, under the pretext of offering plots and high returns in Gujarat's ambitious Dholera Smart City project.
The scam, which surfaced after multiple complaints, has now led to a full-scale probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which on Thursday conducted searches at 25 locations across Jaipur, Sikar, Jhunjhunu and Ahmedabad.
Subhash, a retired Army personnel, and Ranveer began purchasing land in Dholera in 2014 and 2017 respectively. In 2021, they formed Nexa Evergreen, got it registered in Ahmedabad, and falsely claimed it was a partner in the Central government’s Dholera Smart City initiative.
They lured investors nationwide with promises of plots, flats, and huge profits. The scheme also offered commissions, rewards like laptops, bikes and cars, and income benefits for recruiting new investors under a multi-level marketing structure.
Reports say that while Rs 1,500 cr was paid out as commissions to agents across Rajasthan and other states, the duo used the rest to buy luxury cars, mines, hotels in Rajasthan, flats in Ahmedabad, and 25 resorts in Goa. They allegedly transferred Rs 250 cr in cash and funneled the rest through 27 shell companies.
Top operatives named in the scam include Salim Khan, Sameer, Datar Singh, Rakshapal, Ompal, and Sanwarmal, who are accused of expanding the fraudulent network and enrolling thousands of agents.
The brothers eventually shut their offices and disappeared, prompting the Jodhpur police to file a case and launch a hunt.
The Dholera Smart City is a joint initiative between the Centre and the Gujarat government and is touted to be India’s first greenfield smart city, spread over 920 square km – nearly twice the size of Delhi – with completion expected by 2042.
The scam has sent shockwaves across investor circles and raised concerns about fraudulent misuse of major government-backed infrastructure projects.