Three from realty firm booked for duping IIT-B professor of ₹20 lakh over Alibaug plot

In 2017, Dr Kamendra Sharma approached a real estate agency, Wing Lifespaces, at Ghodbunder Road to buy a plot in Alibaug. Sharma and his wife visited the project site and met the firm’s sales executives, Prasad Kotian and Rajesh Sawant.

The Powai police booked the managing director and two employees of a real estate firm in Thane on August 7 for allegedly duping a chemistry professor from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) of ₹20 lakh on the pretext of selling him a plot in Alibaug.

The Powai police booked the managing director and two employees of a real estate firm in Thane on August 7 for allegedly duping a chemistry professor from the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) of ₹20 lakh on the pretext of selling him a plot in Alibaug.

In 2017, Dr Kamendra Sharma approached a real estate agency, Wing Lifespaces, at Ghodbunder Road to buy a plot in Alibaug. Sharma and his wife visited the project site and met the firm’s sales executives, Prasad Kotian and Rajesh Sawant.

“Sharma decided to buy a plot for ₹35.94 lakh and paid Kotian a total of ₹23 lakh,” said a police officer. “After receiving the money, Kotian gave Sharma the receipts and allotment letter, but promised to sign the sale agreement later,” the officer added.

This year, the accused informed Sharma that they would return the entire amount along with interest, and gave him three post-dated cheques of ₹9 lakh each, all of which bounced.

In July, the accused paid Sharma ₹3 lakh and promised him the rest soon. However, when they failed to return the pending amount, Sharma approached Powai police on August 7. An FIR was filed against the firm’s managing director Agendra Jha along with Kotian and Sawant under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code. “We have not arrested anyone yet but we may do so if they are needed for our investigation,” said Anil Pophale, senior inspector of Powai police station.

Meanwhile, Jha has refuted the allegations. He said, “We never intend to cheat any of our clients. We admit that there was a delay to return the money but that was due to technical issues.”