Gurgaon police takes Unitech directors into custody

Gurgaon police took Unitech Limited directors Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra into custody on a production warrant from a Delhi court

The city police on Monday took Unitech Limited directors Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra into custody after taking them on a production warrant from a Delhi court .

Many projects of Unitech in Gurgaon have been facing protests by homebuyers over delayed possession. (HT Representative Photo)

A production warrant is an order issued by a criminal court to produce a person before it in connection with criminal proceedings pending against him or her.

The Chandras were brought to Gurgaon where they will be questioned in around 150 cases pending against them at police stations of Sector 40, Sadar, Civil Lines, Udyog Vihar and the Economic Offences Wing.

“The police had sought A production warrant of the two. They were taken into custody on Monday for questioning related to cases in Gurgaon,” said deputy commissioner of police (DCP), crime, Sumit Kuhar.

Unitech has been mired in controversies due to non-delivery of projects and for launching projects without permission. Last year, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar had sought a report on the assets and liabilities of the groups after officials had invited a report from the National institutional of financial management. In fact, earlier on Monday itself, a Delhi court had granted the Chandras a three-month interim bail as they had been arrested in a fraud case relating to a Gurgaon-based real estate project.

The court had also asked them to appear before the Supreme Court, which is hearing various project-related matters involving Unitech and has already summoned the two.

It also imposed various conditions on the Chandras, including asking them not to leave the country without the court’s permission and not to hamper the ongoing investigation.

The court had on April 6 denied bail to the two after Delhi Police submitted that the accused may tamper with the evidence and influence the probe.

On April 1, the court had sent both the accused to police custody after the prosecution said that their custodial interrogation was required to find out the alleged money trail, beneficiaries of the transactions and recovery of project-related documents and other evidence.

The case was registered on July 31, 2015 in compliance of a July 27, 2015 order passed by a Delhi court on the complaint of Delhi residents Arun Bedi and his mother Urmila Bedi.

They had alleged that the firm lured them into booking a flat in August 2011 in a residential project in Gurgaon named ‘Wild Flowers Country’ for a total consideration of Rs57.34 lakh.

They had added that after passage of the given period, the builder had not given possession, adding that the firm, in connivance with others, cheated the public at large.

Later, 90 more complaints were received against the firm for the same project, which were clubbed with the present FIR.

The police claimed around Rs363 crore was collected by the firm, out of which over Rs35 crore was received from 91 complainants who are part of the present complaint. (With PTI input)