UK NRI recovered Rs 5 lakh out of Rs 28 lakh investment in dubious deals

New Delhi, June 04, 2008
Satnam Singh

NRIs are increasingly falling prey to the land mafia and a bunch of treacherous real estate agents form a well organized network to keep an eye over the lands and properties of NRIs who invest in India but hardly visit.

The land mafia has woven a complex web comprising government and bank officials to keep a check on people who rarely visit their properties in India, says a police official.

Some real estate dealers are the corrupt people who draft forged documents to sell land and create trouble for NRIs by obtaining bank loans against their property.

Because of booming market in India, some real estate dealers try to make some quick money through illegal methods. There are developers who sell the same piece of land to several customers, those who sell land without clear titles.

If you are caught in this mafia woven dubious deals, it will take years and years to get back your investment throgh the court system

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NRI’s home run ends on a drought as land ‘mafia’ steals his dream
Utkarsh Anand
Express India
Posted online: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 at 10:38:23
Updated: Wednesday, June 04, 2008 at 10:38:23

New Delhi, June 3: After nearly four decades of teaching in London, NRI G L Sethi thought it was time to touch base with India.

He flew in to Delhi in 2004 with the intent of buying a home, to be near his relatives and elder brother. But unfortunately, the 68-year-old landed right in the middle of an elaborate trap laid out for him — and perhaps for many others — by the Capital’s property ‘mafia’.

In 2004, when Sethi came visiting, he met real estate ‘dealer’ Gulshan Chanana, director of M/s Lakshya Estate & Builder Ltd. Chanana showed him a “self-owned” property in West Delhi’s Subhash Nagar, persuading him it was a good buy. The plot of land shown to Sethi had a residential building on it, and the adjoining fallow portion was where the flat would come up, Chanana told Sethi. The realtor also said the existing building had been let out to tenants.

When Sethi could not produce up front the full amount for the property — Rs 48 lakh, the builder requested him to sign away the five shops he owned in Ashok Nagar. These shops were valued at Rs 20 lakh, roughly the rest of the flat’s value. Sethi paid Chanana Rs 28 lakh and wrote off the shops in the name of a third party appointed by the builder.

But two years later, Sethi was astonished to learn that the ‘tenant’ Gulshan Sharma was the real owner of the entire property. Sharma said he had hired Chanana to develop the plot he had shown to Sethi. In fact, no flats were planned to be built, only shops, Sharma told Sethi.

“I confronted Chanana and wanted my money back,” Sethi told Newsline. Last July, Chanana agreed to pay back the Rs 28 lakh, that too in installments. Sethi added, “I have got only Rs 5 lakh till date.”

Harassed and quite at his wit’s end, Sethi registered an FIR against Chanana with the Crime Branch in February, under the penal provisions of cheating, breach of trust and criminal intimidation.

Preliminary investigation proved Chanana’s duplicity and he was picked up on May 28, but released today on bail. The case is being heard by Metropolitan Magistrate D K Sharma.

However, Chanana’s counsel S A Hashmi has turned on the heat on Sethi alleging the builder had paid back the full sum to the NRI, but Sethi only wanted more.

Initial legal findings might acknowledge Sethi had been duped, but the teacher’s problems are far from over. He has sent missives to the Delhi Police chief, the deputy commissioner (West), the home ministry and the office of the Lieutenant Governor to give him protection every time he is in Delhi to hear the case.

“I fear for my life,” Sethi told Newsline, adding, “I have prostate cancer and can’t continue to fight like this.” He is baffled at the free market economics here, where investment is “continuously sought from NRIs”, but security not provided to those who have fallen pray to dubious deals.