Developer of Wadala building booked for duping flat buyers of ₹100 crore

Mumbai Police's EOW filed an FIR against BP Gangar Constructions for cheating 102 flat buyers of ₹100 crore in an unfinished building project.

MUMBAI: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police has registered an FIR against the developer of an under-construction building in Wadala for allegedly cheating 102 flat buyers to the tune of ₹100 crore.

Developer of Wadala building booked for duping flat buyers of ₹100 crore

The developer, Lower Parel-based BP Gangar Constructions Pvt Ltd, was supposed to hand over possession of flats in the Skye 31 building by December 2024, said the police. However, according to the complaint filed by one of the flat buyers, the construction of the building has been completed only up to the plinth level so far. “The builder has been taking bookings for the project since 2018,” said a police officer.

The EOW has registered an offence against two directors, Subbaraman Anand Vilayannur and Uma Subbaraman, and other unknown executives of BP Gangar Constructions Pvt Ltd. The FIR was based on a complaint lodged by Anil Drone, 62, a Kandivali-based chartered accountant who purchased a 2-BHK flat in Skye 31 in 2022.

Drone also told the police that the developer has taken money from two parties for a single flat. The developer has sold 102 of the 159 flats in the building so far and diverted the money towards other companies or for personal use, violating the provisions of Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, his complainant alleged.

Based on Drone’s complaint, the police have registered an offence against the developer under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, said the police officer. The flat buyers appear to have been cheated out of over ₹100 crore in total, the officer added.