Builder dupes over 32 tenants in Bengaluru by leasing already sold flats, ET RealEstate
At least 32 people lost lakhs of rupees after a conman took them on a ride when they were looking to buy homes. One of the victims, filed a complaint at the Kodigehalli Police Station after learning that the flats she leased in Sri Sai Balaji Meadows Apartment were not only already sold years ago but were also under a loan default with Indian Overseas Bank.
According to the complaint, she had entered into a lease agreement on November 20, 2023, for Flats No. 305 and 405 at Sri Sai Balaji Meadows Apartment in Kodigehalli. She paid a total of Rs 26 lakh — Rs 10 lakh through cheque, Rs 7 lakh in cash, and Rs 9 lakh through additional cheques — to the builder AK Ragham, in the presence of his wife Sujitha and associates AK Venkatesh and VK Ravi.
In January 2024, a man named Sai Prashant visited Padma and claimed ownership of the same flats, presenting registered sale deeds dated September 13, 2021. Padma cross-verified the documents and discovered that the builder had sold the property to Sai Prashant nearly two years before leasing it to her.
In March 2024, officials from Indian Overseas Bank arrived, stating that Sai Prashant had taken loans against the same flats and that they were preparing to confiscate them due to loan default. Preliminary probe suggests that the builder allegedly used the same modus operandi to lease multiple already-sold or mortgaged flats to tenants, collecting lakhs of rupees from each.
