Delhi couple held for Rs 2.70 crore property fraud

     New Delhi, Apr 14 (PTI) Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested a couple for allegedly duping a businessman of Rs 2.70 crore on the pretext of promising commercial space in an unbuilt project, an official said on Monday.
     Those arrested have been identified as Vinay Jain (55) and his wife Asha Jain (52), they said.
     According to the statement, the couple lured the complainant, Virender Kathuria, into booking three shops in the proposed commercial complex.
     They falsely claimed that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had handed over vacant possession of the land for development. Trusting their representations, Kathuria paid Rs 2.70 crore on January 1, 2016, with an agreement to pay the balance of Rs 74.6 lakh upon getting possession, it said.
     "However, it later emerged that the accused had mortgaged the property to a finance company on April 8, 2016. After they defaulted on loan repayments, the property was auctioned and eventually demolished, resulting in massive financial loss to the complainant," the statement said.
     Despite repeated summons, the accused never cooperated with the investigation and were declared Proclaimed Offenders by a Delhi court on April 25, 2023. After sustained efforts, the couple was arrested on April 7, the police said.
     Vinay is a Class 8 grade dropout, while Asha is a graduate. They got married in 1993 and have allegedly been running several companies. They are said to be repeat offenders in multiple cases of financial fraud, the statement said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)