The matter pertains to an amount of Rs 4.5 crore paid by 29 homebuyers who had booked plots in a Hi-Tech City project in Ghaziabad during 2005 to 2006
Manpreet Singh Chadha, son of the late liquor baron Ponty Chadha and the director of the Uppal-Chadha Hi-Tech Developers, has been arrested in a cheating case by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi police from the IGI Airport, a senior official has confirmed.
The matter pertains to an amount of Rs 4.5 crore paid by 29 homebuyers who had booked plots in Hi-Tech City in Ghaziabad from 2005 to 2006, he said.
Even after 15 years the alleged company has neither provided plots to the buyers or refunded the amount, the official said.
Chadha was detained at the Indira Gandhi International airport when he was leaving for Phuket on Wednesday night, Additional Commissioner of Police (Economic Offences Wing) Suvashis Choudhary said.
Before arresting him, the airport's security staff and immigration officers were alerted and a Look Out Circular (LOC) was issued, the officer said.
He was later produced in court on June 13.
The said case was registered on the complaint of K Ramesh and others against Uppal Chadha Hi-Tech Developers. The complainants had alleged that the company launched the project in 2006 at NH 24 Ghaziabad, UP in 2003. Ghaziabad Development Authority had then formulated a policy for the development of the Hi-Tech City.
The company’s brokers started approaching the public for booking the plots in the township projects namely Rosewood Enclave, Sunny Wood Enclave, Lime Wood Enclave and Crestwood Enclave located in villages of Kachera, Dujana and Mehrauli along NH24.
“The company lured the buyers by showing them brochures and layout plan for the proposed township of about 1500 acres. The possession of plots was to be provided within eight months from the date of allotment letters. All the 29 buyers who had approached the police so far booked plots during 2005-2006 and paid an amount of Rs 4.5 crore,” the official said.
The complainants received letters in November 2009 from the alleged company that all the necessary licenses and approvals were obtained and the first phase of 1500 acres had been approved by the government. The details about the sectors and the plots were being finalized with the government, the letter had said.
Around June 15, 2011, the buyers also received a demand letter signed by the vice president of the alleged company but to their utter shock and surprise the name of the company, the township and the address of the company were changed and all payments were sought in the name of a new entity namely Wave City NH24, the official said.
During the investigation, it emerged that the government of UP announced the Hi-Tech Township policy in 2003 and later on it was revised by the government in 2007 and 2008. Further, the alleged company M/s Uppal Chadha Hi-Tech had entered into an MoU with the GDA on November 30 2005, for developing the project.
Thereafter, the company had started taking bookings for the plots from the ‘victims’ with an initial booking amount of Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh from each. The alleged company had started accepting the booking amount from the victims from 2005 to 2006. However, the site plan was sanctioned only in November 2011, the official said.
Chadha is the director of Uppal-Chadha Hi-tech Developers Private Limited. The company did not respond to a request for comment.Subscribe to Moneycontrol Pro and gain access to curated markets data, exclusive trading recommendations, independent equity analysis, actionable investment ideas, nuanced takes on macro, corporate and policy actions, practical insights from market gurus and much more.
