Loan defaulters’ flats at ‘discount’: 2 held for duping 74 homebuyers in Mumbai

MUMBAI: The Azad Maidan police have arrested a law graduate and his female colleague for allegedly duping 74 people by promising to help buy them flats that were seized by banks for non-payment of EMI.
The accused collected Rs 1. 7 crore as fees from the complainants, shut down his office and fled.
The arrested accused were identified as Parvez Shaikh alias Peter Sequeira, 31, a law graduate, and Zoha Sayyed alias Hina, 32.
The flats, shown by the accused to the potential buyers were those seized by banksfrom buyers for not paying EMI and put up for auction.
“The accused had floated a company, Patil Diligent, and rented office space in Dhobi Talao. They bought 20 SIM cards and opened three bank accounts in the company's name. They hired at least seven employees, prepared fake advertisements and began posting them on OLX,” said an officer. The complainant, Rajesh Adsul, told the police that the crime took place between December 2021 and March 2022.
Police said the accused got information about flats on auction by banks, from newspaper advertisements.
“The complainant wantedto buy a flat in Mulund. The accused told him the flat he wanted to buy was worth Rs 63 lakh. They told him he would have to give Rs 7 lakh as fee for guiding him and completing the process,” said a source.
The accused told the complainant they were given authority by the banks to get clients and guide them in the process. The accused asked the complainant to pay Rs 3. 5 lakh as partial fees. He paid Rs 1. 75 lakh initially for fees. The complainant kept asking when he would get the flat. One day, the complainant learnt that the accused’s office was shut down. When he tried contacting the employees of the company, their phones were switched off. This is when he suspected something amiss and approached the police.
An FIR was registered for cheating and forgery. “More people came forward and narrated their stories. They were cheated in a similar manner. They were shown similar flats to the ones which were up for auction and asked to pay the company fees,” said an officer.
After the FIR, the police arrested Ravindra Patil, 52, an auto driver, under whose name the company was started. He is currently in judicial custody. During interrogation police learnt about the other accused.