B'luru Police register FIR against developer, bank official in ₹130 crore housing fraud case
Bengaluru: According to police officials the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru police has registered a case against Shore Dwellings Pvt Ltd, senior officials of ICICI Bank, Kappa Developers LLP and others over an alleged housing fraud involving more than ₹130 crore on Friday.
The case relates to the stalled ‘Mantri Vantage’ residential project in Pune which is developed by Shore Dwellings Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Mantri Developers Pvt Ltd., as reported by The Indian Express. Citing alleged financial irregularities and cheating of homebuyers, the FIR was registered after a complaint was submitted to the Bengaluru Police Commissioner.
According to the complaint, Shore Dwellings entered into joint development agreements with landowners and developers for constructing residential apartments in Kharadi and Ghorpadi villages of Haveli taluk in Pune district. The company allegedly assured delivery of 123 flats and collected around ₹70 crore from homebuyers through advance bookings and installments.
The complainants have alleged that the developer mortgaged the project land to Yes Bank and availed loans of about ₹40 crore. The loans were later taken over by ICICI Bank. It is alleged that ICICI Bank sanctioned loans amounting to nearly ₹130 crore, of which over ₹60 crore was disbursed, despite limited construction progress on the ground.
The complaint further alleges that bank officials released funds in violation of project finance norms. It also mentions that portions of the loan amount were diverted for purposes unrelated to construction. In December 2021, an agreement was allegedly entered into with Kappa Developers LLP to develop the project without adequately protecting the interests of existing flat purchasers.
Other accused named in the FIR include Plaza Agencies Pvt Ltd and Nidhi Jain. Sources cited by TIE said that while the loans were sanctioned and monitored by banks and financiers based in the city, the promoters of the project operated from an office on Vittal Mallya Road in Bengaluru, giving the Bengaluru police jurisdiction in the matter.
The FIR was lodged under provisions of the IPC, related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, dishonest misappropriation, criminal breach of trust and forgery.
Sources quoted by TIE informed that the project was originally scheduled for completion in December 2019. But due to Covid-19 pandemic it was halted. By 2021, the promoters allegedly became unresponsive. Many of the 123 buyers, most of them senior citizens, later learnt that the project had been mortgaged and that the loan account had been classified as a non-performing asset in 2019.
Attempts were reportedly made in 2021 to revive the project through a one-time settlement involving lenders and a third-party developer, but the plan did not fructify. In December last year, buyers said they discovered a possession notice at the site and became aware of financial and legal arrangements that had not been disclosed to them earlier.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengaluru: Domestic help held for theft of gold jewellery, cash at elderly couple's house
Bengaluru (PTI): A 55-year-old domestic help was arrested for allegedly stealing gold jewellery and cash worth Rs 16 lakh from an elderly couple's house here, police said.
Dhanlakshmi had been working at the couple's house in Frazer Town for nearly 25 years, they said.
With her arrest, police claimed to have recovered 54 grams of gold jewellery and Rs 8 lakh cash, totaling worth Rs 16 lakh.
The matter came to light on February 19 when a complaint was filed in this regard at Pulakeshinagar police station, police said.
According to police, the elderly couple used to withdraw money every month from a nearby bank for household expenses and used to take the domestic help along with them. After withdrawing the cash, they would keep it in their house.
Observing this, the domestic help is suspected to have stolen cash and two gold chains weighing about 54 grams from the house since the year 2025, without the knowledge of the elderly couple.
During the course of investigation, on March 5, a notice was issued to the domestic help for an inquiry. During interrogation, she confessed to committing the theft, a senior police officer said.
"Upon questioning, the accused revealed that she had kept the stolen gold jewellery and cash at her residence. Based on the information provided by her, on March 7, 54 grams of gold jewellery and Rs 8 lakh in cash was recovered from her possession. The total value of the recovered property is Rs 16 lakh," he added.
