AHMEDABAD: On Wednesday, the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) lodged a complaint involving significant fraud and breach of trust related to a housing project in Chharodi village. It is alleged that 95 buyers were swindled out of approximately ₹35 crore by the developers and their accomplices.
The complainant claimed that the developers initiated the project without the necessary RERA registration or NA permissions, collected funds, and subsequently sold off the land. This complaint was filed on December 17 by a 35-year-old software engineer employed in GIFT City, who intended to purchase a 2BHK flat for his family near Vaishnodevi.
According to the FIR, in November 2023, the engineer was introduced to the proposed Chharodi project by a real estate broker from Bopal. The broker informed him that the project would provide 2BHK and 3BHK flats at lower-than-market prices during its pre-launch phase while permissions were still in progress.
The complainant stated that he visited the project site and subsequently met with one of the developers at their office. They agreed on the sale of a 1,325 sq ft 2BHK flat for approximately ₹65 lakh, inclusive of additional charges, with assurances that the required RERA registration and NA permission would be obtained soon.
On November 24, 2023, the complainant submitted a booking amount of ₹1 lakh via cheque. Between December 2023 and June 2024, he paid an additional ₹10.26 lakh in installments, totaling ₹11.26 lakh, which accounted for 20% of the flat’s value under a subvention scheme. During his visits to the developer’s office, staff frequently claimed that the required regulatory approvals were in progress.
In November 2025, the broker informed him that the project had been canceled and the land designated for it had been sold to others via a registered sale deed. Further investigations revealed that the developers had allegedly collected funds from around 92 buyers, totaling approximately ₹35 crore, with some buyers receiving notarized MoUs.
“When confronted, the developers admitted that the funds collected from buyers had been redirected to other projects and that they were unable to refund the money,” a DCB officer stated. The DCB has initiated an investigation to validate the transactions, identify the victims, and assess the involvement of all parties involved.
