PUNE: The Wagholi police have initiated a cheating case against a local builder and his associates after over 150 homebuyers complained of being defrauded of nearly Rs50 crore. This action follows the builder’s failure to deliver flats in a housing project located in Kesnand, Wagholi, despite receiving significant payments from buyers.
The investigation began with a complaint from a 49-year-old buyer who reported paying Rs31.77 lakh in 2018 for a 2-BHK flat and a commercial space. This amount included personal savings and bank loans transferred directly to the builder’s account. According to the signed agreement, the builder was supposed to hand over possession by June 2022, with a clause stipulating that any delays would require the builder to refund the amount with interest at a rate 2% above current bank loan rates.
The project stalled in September 2021. Upon visiting the site in October of the same year, the complainant discovered that the site office had closed and construction had ceased. Only seven slabs of the main buildings were completed, while three planned buildings had not even been started.
When several buyers confronted the builder at his Market Yard office, he claimed that labor shortages due to the Covid-19 pandemic were to blame for the delay and asserted that he had received an extension from MahaRERA. However, construction did not resume in the two following years, and the builder eventually became unreachable.
Frustrated, buyers formed an association in March 2024 to seek legal recourse. A legal notice sent to the developers in July 2024 was returned undelivered, indicating that the addressee was not at the specified location.
Records from the inspector general of registration (IGR) show that 205 sale agreements have been registered for this project. Information gathered by the buyers’ association from just 56 individuals indicates a total payment of Rs8.01 crore. The police estimate that overall, more than 150 customers have invested approximately Rs50 crore in the halted project.
During a preliminary inquiry, the builder stated that he had received a MahaRERA extension to complete the project by December 31, 2027, and claimed to have signed a project management agreement with a third party to restart work. However, police noted that despite multiple meetings and promises to buyers, no actual construction activity has occurred on-site.
