Five executives of Bengaluru-based co-living start-up Homigo Realty Pvt. Ltd. have been booked for cheating based on a complaint by a customer who had taken one of their properties on lease.
The complainant alleged that he was asked to vacate the house by the property owner despite paying Homigo for a three-year lease, as the owner had not been paid by the firm, which was reportedly started by IIT-Kanpur alumni.
The Mico Layout police registered a case against five directors of the firm on March 7, acting on a complaint by Vinuthan R. Naik, 28, a resident of N.R. Colony who was allegedly cheated by the company.
The FIR names Jatin Mutruka, Akash Varma, Nikunja Bateja, Prateek and Adeepa as accused. Police sources said all the accused are directors in the firm. They have been booked for cheating under Section 420 of Indian Penal Code.
Senior police officials said that the five accused had closed the firm and are absconding. “We have formed a special team to trace them,” the official said.
The FIR, accessed by The Hindu , states that Vinuthan had leased a flat in Homigo Calisto apartment at N.R. Colony for three years on a payment of ₹16 lakh. Homigo, in turn, had taken the apartment on rent from the landlord. However, the landlord decided to terminate his contract with Homigo as they had not paid him rent for the last two months and told the occupants to vacate.
Later, the complainant learnt that the firm had shut shop and vacated its office, and its directors were incommunicado.
Several cases
Several other customers, who have also allegedly been cheated by the firm, are deciding on their next course of action. Those who have taken houses on rent or lease alleged that attempts to contact representatives of the firm have been futile, and that its BTM Layout office is closed.
The Homigo website mentions properties in Koramangala, Indiranagar, Domlur, M.G. Road, HSR Layout, Sarjapur Road, BTM Layout, Bellandur and Marathahalli.
Arul David claimed to have paid ₹7.5 lakh for a five-year lease on a one-bedroom house in Bellandur four months ago. “I had taken a personal loan for this. Recently, I got an email from the company saying they are shutting down for two months due to a cash crunch and will revive operations after that. We panicked and tried reaching them, but in vain,” he said.
One of the customers said, “They have taken 32 properties in the city. Some were given on rent and others on lease. On an average, those who have taken houses on rent pay ₹50,000 as security deposit and ₹23,000 as rent. The working model here is that we pay to Homigo, which has an agreement with the property owner. Homigo takes charge of all aspects, such as water and maintenance. Now, water bills and other such services too have not been taken care of.”
Aggrieved tenants have formed a Facebook group ‘Action against Homigo’ on which they have urged other customers to join hands to take their cases forward.
Company representatives were unavailable for comment.
