The Economic Offences Wing (Unit I) officials have arrested a builder for cheating a Jogeshwari resident of ₹1.15 crore by promising three flats in his housing project in Taloja.
The arrested accused, who has been identified as Madan Shantaram Kolambekar (50), had promised three flats at Vakratund Apartment in Taloja Phase 2 to the complainant, Sapna Thapar. Ms Thapar, a teacher, was looking for investment options in 2013 when her friend asked her to meet Mr, Kolambekar of Deva Realtors. Mr. Kolambekar showed her his housing project in Taloja and she expressed interest in buying three flats.
An EOW official said, “She paid ₹1.15 crore, including the price of the three flats, and the fees of the stamp duty and registration. However, the accused sold the three flats to other people.”
The official said that Mr. Kolambekar assured Ms. Thapar that she could gain possession of the flats in 2014. However, when she made enquires about the flat, the accused told her that the building was yet to to gain an Occupancy Certificate (OC) and she had to wait to move into the flats.
In January 2016, when the building was granted the OC, Ms. Thapar visited the flats and found that they had been sold to other buyers. When she asked Mr. Kolambekar for a refund, he gave her two post-dated cheques of ₹50 lakh each.
The EOW official said, “After the cheques bounced, she registered a case against Mr. Kolambekar with Taloja police. The case was later transfered to our unit. We are now investigating if Mr. Kolambekar has cheated other customers in a similar manner.”
The accused has been remanded in police custody till December 22.
