Gurugram cops book directors of real estate firm for embezzlement

Gurugram: More than a decade after a city-based real estate firm received around ₹70 lakh from the Union ministry of rural development for the skill development of people living below the poverty line in Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, its three directors were booked for alleged embezzlement, Gurugram police said on Wednesday

Gurugram: More than a decade after a city-based real estate firm received around ₹70 lakh from the Union ministry of rural development for the skill development of people living below the poverty line in Bihar, Odisha and Jharkhand, its three directors were booked for alleged embezzlement, Gurugram police said on Wednesday.

Gurugram cops book directors of real estate firm for embezzlement

Police said that the fund, which was grant-in-aid, was disbursed to the firm on December 24, 2012, by the Union government’s Nabard Consultancy Services (Nabcons), which was a project monitoring agency of the rural development ministry for its Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY).

Police said that Nabcons vice-president P Ramalakshmi had sent an official complaint against the three directors of the firm to the Gurugram police commissioner on April 4 last year.

However, the Economic Offences Wing-II of the Gurugram police first carried out an investigation and the allegations were found to be true.

Police said an FIR against the three directors was registered under Section 34 (common intention) and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Gurugram Sadar police station on Monday night.

According to investigators, the managing director of the firm, which had an office located in a tech park in Sector 48, had died before Nabcons approached the police.

Police said that Nabcons had alleged the skill development project was to be completed within two years, but the firm never initiated it in the three eastern states even after receiving the fund.

As per police, Nabcons had alleged that multiple communications were made to the real estate firm’s office in the city via posts, emails and other possible methods, including couriers, to get an update about the allocated fund but there was no response.

Police said the construction firm had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nabcons in October 2012 for the execution of the project, which was meant for rural areas in Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha for placement-linked skill development.

As per the FIR, a total of ₹70.5 lakh was sanctioned by the then Union government as a first installment and an amount of ₹1.05 lakh was deducted as consultation fees by Nabcons, police said.

Sub-inspector Pramod Kumar, additional station house officer of Gurugram Sadar police station, said police will serve a notice to both Nabcons and the firm and ask them to appear with documents on the basis of which further action will be taken.