Raigad man who cheated bizman of Rs. 3.5cr surrenders

The complainant, Gautam Budhrani, a businessman and developer, had bought a 353-acre land worth Rs. 105 crore in Panvel in 2014.

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Tuesday arrested a Raigad real estate liasoning agent in a Rs. 3.5-crore cheating case. Avikumar Dhule surrendered himself before the local court on the direction of the Supreme Court (SC).

Dhule, a Mahad resident, told Budhrani that he has good rapport with government officials in various departments and that he owns a large piece of land in Dighi taluka. Budhrani entrusted him to get the clearances for the land. (HT FILE)

The complainant, Gautam Budhrani, a businessman and developer, had bought a 353-acre land worth Rs. 105 crore in Panvel in 2014. He came across the accused’s firm Avikumar Estates while looking for someone who could get all the legal procedures and no-objection certificates (NOCs) from various government departments.

Dhule, a Mahad resident, told Budhrani that he has good rapport with government officials in various departments and that he owns a large piece of land in Dighi taluka. Budhrani entrusted him to get the clearances for the land.

After Dhule handed over the required documents to Bhudhrani, he was paid Rs. 3.5 crore. However, Budhrani later observed some discrepancies between two government records pertaining to the land. On checking the credentials of the forest department’s order, he learnt that the department had not passed any such order pertaining to the land, said a police officer.

Budhrani confronted Dhule, who admitted to forging the documents, signatures and government department stamps. Dhule then promised to return the money, but started avoiding Budhrani. In September 2018, Budhrani approached the Cuffe Parade police station and a first information report (FIR) was registered against Dhule. The case was later transferred to the EOW.

Meanwhile, Dhule moved several courts for relief. A few weeks ago, the SC directed Dhule to surrender before the local court and he was later arrested by the EOW.

Investigation showed that Dhule has a similar cheating case against him in Mahad police station in Raigad.