Sixty-one-year- old Sharda Patel invested her life's savings, Rs52 lakh, for a plot in the Megh Malhar Cooperative society located in Ognaj village in Sarkhej. Later, she realised that the same plot had also been sold to at least two other people…
Sixty-one-year- old Sharda Patel invested her life's savings, Rs52 lakh, for a plot in the Megh Malhar Cooperative society located in Ognaj village in Sarkhej. Later, she realised that the same plot had also been sold to at least two other people…
Similarly, Achyut alias Ateet Thakkar is now running from pillar to post to get the plot or his investment of Rs57 lakh that he gave to the organizers of the society for a plot. He was stunned to find out that his plot had two other buyers…
Padmaji Somani, a resident of Vadodara, lodged the third FIR against the organizers for duping her in a similar manner for a plot that she wanted to purchase…
For Suresh Patel and his son Anjel, the society meant everything as they have not only put their own money in the hands of the organizers but also lent Rs50 lakh to them on interest. Suresh is clueless as to how he can get his hard earned money back…
These are some of the victims who put their hard earned money in Megh Malhar Housing Cooperative Society scheme located in Ognaj village under Sarkhej area that was floated in 2002 by three men, Hasmukh Patel, his son Nitul Patel and his cousin Dipesh J Patel. One of them, Nitul, was arrested while the other two are still absconding. The cheating came into prominence again when a third FIR was filed against the three on Tuesday.
According to the three FIRs lodged against these organisers, the victims bought plots after paying crores of rupees, but when they tried to take possession of the land, they found that there were at least two other people who had purchased the same plots. In many cases, the plots have reportedly even been sold to four people.
According to police inspector Nisar S Malik who is investigating the case, the accused sold the plots to more than one person. Some purchased the plot in 2003 while some struck the deal three years back. However, nobody was given possession of their respective plots and later it was found that in most cases the possession of the land went to one Desai family. In fact, he said that around 50% of the society has been sold to this family alone.
According to the police, the society is spread in a 67,000 square foot area and has 47 plots. So far, police estimate that 50% of the plots were sold to more than one buyer. They say that nearly 25 plots were sold to about 75 people, through which the organizers amassed crores of rupees.
"There are dozens of people who invested heavily in the society. They are government officials working with customs, AUDA. There are various businessmen, among others, who are reluctant to lodge police complaints, fearing income tax intervention because of the unaccounted money involved in the transactions," said a highly-placed source.
Sources said the rough estimate is that nearly Rs10 to 15 crore were yielded by the scheming organisers. Malik said that the police are still unsure about the total amount that the organisers grossed with their scheme. He said that the three organisers cheated the customers by keeping them in the dark.
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