Malad builder arrested for duping 15 people of ₹52.5 lakh

Kurar police arrested a 46-year-old builder on Sunday for allegedly duping 15 homebuyers to the tune of ₹52.51 lakh under the pretext of providing them with flats

Kurar police arrested a 46-year-old builder on Sunday for allegedly duping 15 homebuyers to the tune of ₹52.51 lakh under the pretext of providing them with flats in a redeveloped society in Malad (East).

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According to the police, the arrested accused, Akhilesh Singh, 46, is a builder and a resident of Kurar village in Malad. Singh met the complainant, Pradip Morya, a 49-year-old bank employee, through a mutual friend in 2016.

The complaint states Singh told Morya that he would get him a 269-square foot flat worth ₹16.32 lakh in a redeveloped society named Panchavati co-operative housing society in Shivaji Nagar in Malad (East) and took money from him as booking charges.

Morya told police, “Even after a couple of years, Singh did not handover the flat.” Last month, Morya and others approached Kurar police station, following which an FIR was lodged against Singh under sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

When contacted, the accused’s lawyer, Sunil Singh, said, “My client has been falsely implicated.”

“Singh was taken to court on Monday and has been remanded in police custody till February 6,” said a police officer.