DNA

• Orbit MD conned into buying properties by a five-member gang 

Mumbai, May 22: Pujit Agarwal, managing director of property builders and developers Orbit Corporation Ltd, has filed a complaint at the Malabar Hill police station accusing five people of cheating him of Rs1.75 crore.

In his complaint, Agarwal has stated that two people had approached him in January to sell a huge property in the plush Carmichael Road area. The two had claimed to be owners of Moren House (almost 1,623 square metres in area) at Cumbala Hills on Carmichael Road.

“The suspects forged several documents and managed to make a fake will. They also pretended to be the actual owners of the property,” said senior inspector of police Iqbal Shaikh of Malabar Hill Police Station. They then approached Agarwal and convinced him to buy the property. The deal was struck at Rs 20 crore and Agarwal later paid a token sum of Rs 90 lakh by cheque. “Subsequently, the two vanished with the cheque,” Shaikh said.

Ironically enough, a few weeks later, Agarwal was approached by a different set of people who showed him another set of property papers. “They too claimed that the property belonged to them and that the two who had approached him earlier were con men and had nothing to do with the property,” Shaikh added. After they convinced him about their antecedents, Agarwal made another payment of approximately Rs85 lakh. “These people too vanished after taking the cheque,” Shaikh said.

A couple of months later, a woman named Prieshla Lal approached Agarwal and showed him a gift deed. She also claimed to be the owner of the property and tried to sell it to Agarwal.

However, this time Agarwal realised that something was amiss and filed a complaint with the Malabar Hill police. The whole drama went on for five months from January to May.

The police have registered an FIR and are investigating the case. “Currently we are looking for five people including a woman,” Shaikh said. The names of those who are absconding are Alok Kumar Singh, CM Jha and Kishore Kumar Jain (both estate agents), Anil Kumar Badani and Prieshla Lal.

“According to information, the suspects are from Patna and Delhi. There is also a possibility that they are a gang and could have been involved in similar offences across the country,” Shaikh said. The police have launched a manhunt for the suspects.