The Nehru Nagar police have arrested two individuals, including a purported real estate agent, who have allegedly defrauded at least 40 homebuyers by offering flats in MHADA and SRA buildings at enticing prices.
According to the police, the accused and their accomplices—who remain at large—lured victims through listings on 99acres.com, sharing property images along with forged agreements and other seemingly authentic documents.
The matter first came to light in April last year when Prashant Kale, a Chembur resident employed as a manager at Citi Bank, approached the Nehru Nagar police. Kale discovered a listing on 99acres.com advertising a flat in Chembur that caught his interest. Shortly after, he received a phone call from someone identifying himself as Pritam Kundan Oswal. Oswal informed Kale about a 340-square-foot flat in Shell Colony, opposite Tilak Nagar Railway Station, priced at ₹32 lakhs, along with an additional ₹3 lakhs as a bribe for MHADA officials to expedite the documentation process. Over the next few months, Kale ended up paying Oswal ₹7.56 lakhs.
After registering the FIR, Senior Police Inspector Yusuf Sudagar of Nehru Nagar formed a team led by PSI Shahin Desai, who initiated the investigation with support from a technical team provided by DCP Hemraj Singh Rajput. According to Desai, the primary accused, Oswal, conspired with three others—Santosh Dalvi, S. Paul Singh, and Imran. Of these, Oswal and Singh have been arrested, while Dalvi, who posed as a MHADA official, and Imran are currently absconding, the police said on Friday.
Desai added that the arrested duo frequently changed their locations, making it challenging to track them. However, after an extensive technical investigation, they were apprehended this week.
After Kale’s complaint, Desai said they began receiving more reports from defrauded homebuyers. At Nehru Nagar alone, three cases were registered in 2023, with more emerging in 2024. "If we tally the number of victims, it currently stands at around 40. We urge others who have fallen prey to this scam to come forward and file a complaint," Desai stated. When asked about the total financial loss, she added, "The accused collected varying amounts from each homebuyer. Some paid as little as ₹7 lakhs, while others lost as much as ₹40 lakhs. In total, the losses are estimated to be in crores."
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Police officials added that, similar to Nehru Nagar, several other cases have been registered against the accused, particularly in areas like Borivali, Chembur, Kurla, and others.
Providing background on the accused, police stated that Oswal, who has an MBA, is the leader of the gang. “Oswal was responsible for posting advertisements on 99acres.com, in newspapers, and on other social media platforms. Singh and Dalvi posed as MHADA and SRA officials, manipulating victims and accelerating the process to extract money from them. Meanwhile, Imran's role was to find inexpensive flats, take photos of the rooms and locations, and use these images on social media to attract victims.”
