AHMEDABAD: Promised with no government forms or lotteries, more than 100 women from underprivileged backgrounds fell victim to a significant scam, losing over Rs 2 crore in total. The accused, Neel Madhav Patel, reportedly claimed to have direct access to housing allocations under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Sunita Bhandari, a 27-year-old domestic worker from Paldi, approached the city police commissioner to report how Patel deceived her. She claimed that she was not alone, with around 100 other female victims also affected. Based on her report, the Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) filed an FIR on Monday. Patel assured Bhandari that there was no need for any forms or a lottery; the allotments would be direct if she paid an initial sum of Rs 20,000 per house. She and her family ended up paying Rs 60,000 in cash for three houses.
The FIR indicated that Patel subsequently demanded an additional Rs 52,500 per house for demand drafts and maintenance charges. When Bhandari expressed her inability to pay, he allegedly urged her to secure loans and even suggested her husband take out a loan in her name, offering a scooter in return for cash.
Over time, Patel gained access to Bhandari’s bank accounts, ATM cards, and signed cheque books, convincing them to upgrade to a 2BHK flat for which they would need to pay Rs 8 lakh upfront. Bhandari’s husband mortgaged their house in Paldi to provide him with the cash, with Patel’s father, Dipak Patel, and uncle, Raju Patel, present at the time.
When the PMAY draw was eventually announced, and Bhandari confronted Patel, he allegedly produced a waiting list and claimed he was traveling abroad. He later issued approximately 20 cheques from a private bank, all of which were subsequently dishonored.
