INDIA
Academics of JNU, IIT Delhi were dupes of crores of rupees by colleagues.
An ex-employee of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been accused of duping several professors of duping them of crores of rupees. The man took the money from the professors by promising them homes on a DDA plot under a housing development scheme which was never there.
The professors lodged a complaint with the Delhi police after waiting for seven years. In 2015, just before he was due retirement, Dr DP Gaikwad, a technical staff in the Department of Environmental Science of JNU, floated a society and named it Noble Socio-Scientific Welfare Organization (NSSWO).
He sold its membership to his peers claiming that the society owned land in the L-Zone in Dwarka Najafgarh Area under the Land Pooling Policy. He collected from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 16 lakh each from the academic and non-academic staff of JNU, IIT-Delhi, and other nearby institutions for three years in various installments, assuring them that the project was on.
Read: Punjab minister Fauja Singh Sarari resigns due to 'personal' reasons amid corruption allegations
"To make it appear real, he took several of us to show a piece of land, but later it turned out that NSSWO was not the owner of the land," Professor Gobardhan Das, Chairperson, Molecular Medicine, JNU, said.
"After collecting a hefty amount by cheating all the members, he stopped communicating and blocked all his phone numbers," Das, a victim of the scam, said. After he went incommunicado, he was however traced in Gurugram by some professors who went there to confront him. All the same, he again reeled them in with the offer of another lucrative scheme.
"He continued to play his trick of cheating and in February 2019, he offered to transfer our membership of NSSWO to another entity named Siddhartha Officers Housing and Social Welfare Society (SOHSWS) through which our flats were to be delivered, however, with a significantly escalated cost," Prof Biswajit Kundu from IIT-Delhi, one of the 10 complainants in the FIR, said.
He didn't give any explanation for doing so, nor did he provide any details of any consequent changes in the agreement. "In spite of repeated requests by several members, he never called a general body meeting of either society or took consent from the members of NSSWO for the changes made unilaterally," Kundu added. Gaikwad himself admitted that there are 38 professors from JNU who have invested in the project, Das said.
"There are two from IIT and many more from other nearby institutions as far as I know. Initially, in a few cases, he returned 50 to 80 per cent money when he was forced to do so, but later he simply refused to return any money," Das added.
Dr Bindu Dey, a former senior scientist in the Department of Biotechnology in the Ministry of Science and Technology, was another victim of Gaikwad. Having lost Rs 8 lakh in a bogus scheme, Dey in 2018 filed a complaint against Gaikwad at Vasant Kunj Police Station where an FIR was lodged against him.
"He collected Rs 16 lakh from me in the name of offering an affordable home but kept delaying with one excuse or the other. After a lot of persuasion and follow-up, he returned Rs 8 lakh but the remaining amount is still with him," Dey, who retired from the DBT, said.
These academics are the latest in a huge list of victims of real estate fraud in the L-Zone where the Delhi Development Authority first announced the Land Pooling Policy around 2014. Before the policy could take the final shape, many housing schemes were floated and to date, thousands of people have been defrauded.
Despite DDA's advisories cautioning people against making any investment in the L-zone in various newspapers, people in need of an affordable home continued to invest and fall prey to fraud. "The DDA amended the policy in 2018 but still there is a whole lot of ambiguity around it. Investing here is a trap for any prospective homebuyer. I advise people to stay away from it," Amit Jain, a real estate expert, said.
(With inputs from PTI)
UP Court summons Rahul Gandhi on March 24 over 2022 remarks against Army
Indian consulate in Marseille to strengthen 'people-to-people ties': PM Modi
India’s Top 5 Richest YouTubers: Know who’s earning more than Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia?
Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Mittal are working to revolutionise mobile calling in India by...
DNA TV Show: UP CM Yogi Adityanath's multi-level plan for Maghi Purnima
Tejasswi Prakash reveals why she joined Celebrity MasterChef: 'I am obsessed with...'
Delhi-NCR schools holiday: Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, schools closed tomorrow due to...
'We can teach children AI but...': Sudha Murty urges govt to provide funds to schools to promote...
THIS startup gives whopping bonus to employees for loyalty, they get Rs...
JEE Main 2025 Toppers List Released: Meet 14 candidates who scored 100 percentile this year
JEE Main Result 2025 DECLARED: Get direct link, steps to check NTA score and other details HERE
SHOCKING! Noida family held under ‘digital arrest’ for 5 days, loses Rs 1 crore to cyber fraud
Ranveer Singh, Akshaye Khanna shoot for Aditya Dhar's Dhurandhar in Mumbai, pictures get leaked
Why are hobby classes integral to Podar International School’s curriculum in Khopoli?
Mukesh Ambani buys Rs 6437604000 stake in THIS cricket team, not Mumbai Indians
World's richest man Elon Musk loses Rs 789330000000 in four days, net worth slips below Rs...
'Need global standards': PM Modi pushes for AI governance at Paris AI Summit
Ashutosh Rana slams Prabhas, Saif Ali Khan-starrer Adipurush: 'Audiences will not accept...'
Ahead of PM Modi-Donald Trump meet, India considers cutting tariffs on THESE items imported from US
Communication platforms are fast evolving into super apps
Mumbai Police reaches Ranveer Allahbadia's home in connection to India's Got Latent controversy
Junaid Khan says Aamir Khan, Reena Dutta spent ‘ridongculous’ amount on his...
Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant's warm gesture towards kid wins internet, watch viral video
Ajith Kumar recalls 'bad crash’ ahead of Portugal race: ‘When I crashed...'
India's Got Latent episode feat Ranveer Allahbadia blocked after government orders
Samay Raina performs in Seattle, enjoys with friends amid Ranveer Allahbadia controversy
Good news for Gautam Adani as Adani stocks rally up to 4.5% due to Donald Trump's this BIG move...
Amid rumours of dissent, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal holds meeting with Punjab CM Mann, MLAs in Delhi
Woman makes 'Valentine edition parantha' for husband, netizens amused, watch viral video
How cashless treatment and telemedicine are transforming health insurance plans in India?
Top 3 astrologers of India: Newly updated list of 2025
A complete guide to documents needed for a personal loan
Mitolyn Reviews and Complaints - Mitolyn Supplement - Mitolyn Reviews Consumer Reports
Muslim wedding card goes viral for THIS bizarre reason, leaves netizens amused, check here
Surat: School students parade luxury cars to celebrate farewell, probe underway, watch viral video
Elon Musk offers this huge amount to buy ChatGPT maker OpenAI, Sam Altman says 'no thank you but...'
Pune: Pakistani currency note found in housing society near National Defence Academy; probe on
YouTube removes Ranveer Allahbadia's controversial video after Modi government's notice
Here's why Not Like Us singer Kendrick Lamar won't get paid for Super Bowl Halftime Show performance
Meet Samay Raina, creator of India's Got Latent, accused of promoting vulgarity, he is from...
Bank Holiday February 2025: Banks to remain closed in THIS state today due to...
Donald Trump issues BIG warning to Hamas, says 'all hell will break out' if...
Anil Ambani's RCap buy: Hinduja Group firm set to acquire debt-ridden Reliance Capital by THIS date
Meet man, MBA graduate from Harvard, who leads one of world’s big tech firms as CEO, he is...
Delhi-Dehradun Expressway opens, check travel time, toll fee and more
What happens during Snow Moon and when does it appear? Check dates and when to see
‘RBI’s gold buying is...’: FM Nirmala Sitharaman talks about rising gold reserves by central bank
Meet the Muslim king all set to challenge Donald Trump over Gaza, he is from...