Real estate companies booked for duping people of Rs 1.98 cr

A case has been registered against three Delhi-based real estate companies for allegedly duping people to the tune of around Rs 1.98 crore on the pretext of booking apartments in a housing project.
An FIR in connection with the matter was registered under relevant sections of IPC for criminal breach of trust and cheating at Delhi Police's Economics Offences Wing on December 11, following which investigation was taken up, a senior police official said.
The incident came to the fore after a complainant alleged that he along with 16 others had paid around Rs 1.98 crore for booking flats in an upcoming project at Ghaziabad's Indirapuram area in 2011. But the housing project never took off, following which he approached the police.

The complainant also levelled charges against cricketer Gautam Gambhir, who was once a director and also the brand ambassador in the joint project.
"The project was extensively promoted and advertised and Gambhir, as the brand ambassador helped in attracting and inviting buyers to invest in the project," the complainant told the police.
Meanwhile, Gambhir's name was not included in the FIR, after preliminary investigations.

The cricketer, however, has trashed all allegations against him.
Gambhir told PTI that his association with the project ended in 2014 after he resigned as a director and claimed to have no say in their day-to-day affairs.

"My association with the company ended in 2014 and I resigned as a director much earlier. What's happening is unfortunate but as their brand ambassador or director, I had no say in their day to day affairs," he said.