5 arrested for duping home seeker of Rs 22L

Five self-proclaimed builders landed in the Local Crime Branch net four years after they duped a home seeker to the tune of Rs 20 lakh under the pretext of offering him a flat in Bhayandar.

The victim Charanjeet Singh Dhanjal came into contact with Ketan Panchal and Satish Punamiya who offered him a 1,000 sq.ft. flat priced Rs 40 lakh at an upcoming project in Bhayandar (west).

Finding the deal transparent, Dhanjal paid Rs 20 lakh by cheque as advance money for the flat to the developer identified as Abhay Bhandari at his office in Borivali, in the presence of his alleged partners Rupesh Parihar, Ravindra Jain, Jignesh Devani in April-2013.

When the project failed to take off and there was nothing except barren land at the site for the past couple years, Dhanjal made enquiries and was shocked to learn that the project had no clearance from the civic body.

When confronted, the accused told Dhanjal about litigations which had delayed the project and offered him a flat in-exchange at Badlapur.

But once again he was fleeced of Rs 2 lakh under the pretext of registration fees.

This deal also failed to see the light of the day. Dhanjal demanded an immediate refund of his money, to which the accused handed over 6 undated cheques totalling Rs 22 lakh, tagged with an advise of depositing them only when instructed.

However, for the past more than a year the payment never materialized, prompting Dhanjal to register a complaint.