Retired teacher duped of ₹1.25 cr in real estate fraud

After the agent failed to give possession of the flat, the teacher then went to the building, inquired and discovered that the flat was fraudulently sold to him

Mumbai: A retired school teacher from Mira Road was duped of ₹1.25 crore by an estate agent and his associate by allegedly selling a Kandivali flat to him, using forged documents and impersonating the owner.

Retired teacher duped of ₹1.25 cr in real estate fraud

According to the police, the complainant met one Ravindra Singh on June 12 this year in Kashigaon in Mira Road East, who introduced himself as an estate agent and informed him about a flat owned by one Ganesh Prasad Chaturvedi, located on the 15th floor of the Lodawoods tower in Lokhandwala, Kandivali.

“The victim visited the flat and expressed his interest in buying the property. Following this, Singh introduced him to Chaturvedi, who claimed to be the owner of the flat. They then negotiated the price to ₹1.25 crore, which the victim transferred to them and also signed the sale deed,” said a police officer.

Subsequently, the victim repeatedly followed up with Singh and Chaturvedi for possession, but the two allegedly evaded him and eventually cut off communication, the officer said.

“He then went to the building, spoke to some people, and inquired about the owner’s whereabouts. He then discovered that the flat indeed belonged to a person named Chaturvedi, but the man he had met was not the real owner but someone who impersonated him,” he added.

After numerous failed attempts to reach the two men for four months, he approached the police, after which a case was registered against Singh and his associate under sections 319(2) (cheating by personation), 318(4) (cheating), 316(2) (criminal breach of trust), 336 (3) (forgery) and 338 (forgery of a valuable security) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.