BENGALURU:  The managing director of Skyline Construction and Housing Private Ltd, Avinash Prabhu, has been arrested by City Crime Branch (CCB) for allegedly cheating hundreds of house buyers in Bengaluru and Mangaluru of around Rs 100 crore. Avinash, who owns several other businesses, including 11 outlets of Kalmane Koffee in the city, was arrested on Thursday following a raid at his plush apartment at Lavelle Road.

Avinash, along with his brother Dheeraj Prabhu, had allegedly lured people to invest in apartments being constructed by them. They would approach potential investors, and urge them to invest in their project by paying Rs 25 lakh — which was half the price of the promised apartment — in advance. 

After several people were lured this way, the accused used to convince the investors that the apartments were being constructed, the police said. They would take up works on the foundation, and then abruptly abandon the project, leaving buyers in the lurch. They would then buy another plot of land and approach other people to invest in the apartments through their office.

Using the modus operandi, they had promised to build Skyline Aura (100 apartments) at K Narayanapura, Skyline Retreat (87 apartments) at Horamaavu, Skyline Acacia (40) on Hennur Main Road, Skyline Villa Maria at Rest House Road, Skyline Waterfront (78) at Yelahanka, and Skyline Blueberry (30) and Skyline Best House (06) in Mangaluru. 

Though complaints had been filed against the businessman in the past, the arrest by CCB was made based on a complaint by Christopher Regal at Hennur Police Station in the city. Apart from the complaint, there were 20-25 cheque bounce cases registered against Avinash, said Police Commissioner T Suneel Kumar. 

About 40 complaints of cheating were also registered at Hennur, Ramamurthy Nagar, Sampigehalli and Amrutahalli police stations.

“After cheating the home buyers of their investment, he (Avinash Prabhu) used the funds to finance his other businesses and exorbitant lifestyle. Vehicles including a Range Rover, an Audi and a Toyota Innova were seized from his residence,” he said.

Following the complaint, the police had tracked Avinash for a week and raided him on Thursday morning after confirming his presence at his Lavelle Road residence. 

Noting that such cases were reported in the past, city police have advised people against investing in any real estate project that has not been approved by Real Estate Regulatory Authority. 

The fraud

• 400 home buyers duped

• D100 cr is estimated amount cheated

• Investors in Bengaluru and Mangaluru cheated