Lodha Developers' Ex-Director Arrested in ₹85-Cr Land Scam
The Mumbai crime branch’s property cell has made a significant arrest in a multimillion-ruble land scam involving Lodha Developers Limited (LDL). On Wednesday, Rajendra Narpatmal Lodha, the ex-director of the company, was arrested along with several others. The accused were produced in court and sent to police custody until September 23.
Rajendra Lodha began his career with LDL in 1990 and rose to become a director in 2015. From 2021, he also became a promoter and was granted the right to purchase land for the group, though he was not authorized to sell land. The FIR registered on Tuesday at N M Joshi Marg police station alleges that Rajendra sold several Lodha properties at cheap rates, causing a loss of ₹85 crore to the company. The case also includes his son Sahil, Bharat Narsana, Nitin Wador, Ritesh Narsana, Nisha Menon, Neha Desai, Amit Kamble, Sujit Kumar Singh, and Vinod Patil, some of whom are employees of the company who allegedly aided him.
In July 2025, the Lodha group discovered that Rajendra owned more property than his known sources of income and requested him to provide details. Following this, he resigned. “LDL has learned that his net worth is worth ₹400 crore,” a police officer stated. Additionally, CEO Abhishek Lodha was threatened by Bharat Narsana, who met him on Rajendra’s behalf.
One of the alleged under-valuations involved a 5,900-square-metre plot of land sold in August 2023 to Sulakshana Jadhav for ₹88 lakh. “The Virar-Alibaug Multi-Modal Corridor Project will pass by the land, significantly increasing its value,” the police officer explained. Jadhav resold the land within ten months for ₹10.88 crore.
In 2022, while working as a partner with NBP Edutech Infotech LLP, Rajendra sold a land parcel in Bhopar village in Panvel for ₹2.75 crore to the company. The actual value of the land was ₹9 crore, resulting in a loss of ₹6.25 crore to Lodha Developers. His son, Sahil, is also a partner in NBP Edutech Infotech LLP.
In 2022-23, Rajendra sold a land parcel in Shirdon village in Panvel to Usha Developers, suspected to be a benami company of his, for ₹48 lakh, causing a loss of ₹10 crore to Lodha. He also sold around 7,15,000 square feet of TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) obtained from the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation at a much lower price than the prevailing market rate in 35 transactions, causing Lodha Developers a loss of ₹49 crore.
“Rajendra Lodha and his son Sahil declared assets worth ₹130 crore to the income-tax authorities,” the police officer noted. “Lodha Developers Limited has learned that their total property is worth ₹400 crore. We have registered an offence under Sections 316 (criminal breach of trust), 318 (cheating), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 340 (using forged document or electronic record and using it as genuine) and 351 (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.”
In a statement, Lodha Developers Limited informed the BSE that, in continuation of its intimation dated August 18, 2025, regarding the resignation of Rajendra Lodha as a director of the company, it had decided to refer the matter to the appropriate authorities for investigation. “The Company maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy towards any misconduct, irrespective of the seniority or position of the individual concerned,” said the statement. “In light of this incident, the Company has carried out a comprehensive review of its processes in areas related to his role with an independent external firm, and their recommendations are being implemented with immediate effect.”
