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.
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Two killed as college tour bus crashes into parked tanker, lorry near Maravanthe
Kundapur: Two persons died and several students were injured after a college tour bus rammed into a tanker and a goods lorry parked by the roadside near Maravanthe Beach in Trasi on Wednesday afternoon.
The bus was carrying final-year B.Com students of Rambhapuri College from Shivamogga district. According to sources, the group had left for the tour two days ago.
There were around 50 persons in the bus, including 24 male students and 23 female students.
The students had visited Murdeshwar and were travelling towards Udupi on Wednesday when the accident occurred.
Police said the bus driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, following which the bus first hit a parked gas tanker and then crashed into a goods lorry stationed ahead.
The front portion of the bus was badly mangled in the impact. Preliminary information said the bus cleaner and a cooking assistant travelling with the group died in the accident. Several injured students were shifted to different hospitals in Kundapur for treatment.
