Man held for duping bank, 500 people

New Delhi: A man has been arrested for allegedly duping around 500 persons and a bank of several crores of rupees by floating a sham real-estate company, police said today.

The accused, identified as S P Bajaj, who claimed to be the director of one M/S Shaurya Housing Ltd company, had been absconding for more than a year. He was arrested on Tuesday after a raid, said DCP (Economics Offences Wing) Mangesh Kashyap.

The police are now trying to track down his associates, including a woman who claimed to be Bajaj’s wife.

According to the police, a case was registered against Bajaj in 2014 after a Delhi-based woman reported that she was cheated of Rs 5 lakh, which she had paid as advance to the company for an apartment in Mathura which was never constructed.

During interrogation, it emerged that the company had allegedly duped more than 500 persons and a bank from which it had managed to get a loan of Rs 9 crore by mortgaging property which never existed.

Later, it emerged that he had duped 150 persons, particularly on the pretext of the Mathura project, in connection with which the Delhi-based woman had also paid advance and the concerned bank was actually duped of Rs 16 crore, said police.

Bajaj was also declared a proclaimed offender in connection with two cases registered in Greater Kailash police station here.