Victims allege nexus between cops, builders

Victims of property frauds in the city have alleged that the police do not take their complaints seriously and claimed that there is a nexus between the police department and major developers. Leena Dhankhar reports.

Victims of property frauds in the city have alleged that the police do not take their complaints seriously and claimed that there is a nexus between the police department and major developers.

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Many people, who have been duped of lakhs of rupees by property dealers and builders, say that getting an FIR registered against the fraudsters at a police station is a tough task.

The residents complain that the police refuse to register a property fraud case on the pretext that the matter did not relate to the breach of law and order situation. Instead, victims are advised to approach the court.

Most of the property fraud cases were registered only on the directions of the court. And then these cases were handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for further probe.

When a complainant gets the court orders asking the police department to register an FIR against a fraudster, the police take a lot of time in arresting the accused. A resident, who was duped by a property dealer, claimed that the police did not arrest the accused in the name of conducting a detailed investigation.

And even if the police department files an FIR against the fraudsters, the lengthy process of handing over the case to EOW leaves the victims in a hopeless situation.

"It has been more than four months since I complained to police about being duped over property in Dharuhera (Rewari). The investigation was initially taken up by EOW and has now been transferred to the Dharuhera police station. A constable called me several times but he was transferred after three months. The process is so lengthy and frustrating," said Narender Rangi, a government official who resides in Sector 15.

Senior police officials have denied the allegations and said they would look into the matter. "There is a certain process. The property fraud cases are transferred to EOW, which is a lengthy process," said DCP (east) Maheshwar Dayal.