Real Estate Agents Duped Senior Citizen of Rs 70 Lakh in Mumbai

MIDC police have booked two individuals, an estate agent and his associate who pretended to be an MHADA official, for allegedly cheating a senior citizen couple of Rs 70 lakh. The accused are identified as Avinash Kumar and Arvind Lambe. Police have stated that the accused will be questioned soon in the case.

According to police, the complainant, Deepak Tudvekar, 62, lives in Andheri (east) with his wife. Tudvekar is retired from a private firm, while his wife recently retired from Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) as a manager. The couple wanted to invest in a flat for their children and the complainant was introduced to Lambe through a common friend in October 2023.

Lambe, who works as a real estate agent, claimed he had a good connection with an MHADA official. He allegedly told the complainant that there were six MHADA flats in a building at Andheri, and one of them, costing Rs 1.70 crore, could be allotted to him. The accused told the complainant he would take a two percent brokerage for his commission. The accused even arranged for the complainant to visit the premises, and they saw the flat and liked it, according to a police officer.

Lambe then arranged a meeting with another suspect, Avinash Kumar, in early 2024. Kumar confirmed that one flat was in the name of one Krishna and it could be transferred to the name of the complainant. An MoU was signed regarding the flat, and the complainant paid Rs 70 lakh in three installments to the accused, who promised that further paperwork would start soon.

However, after eight to 10 months, there was no progress in the paperwork for the flat, and the accused stopped answering the complainant’s calls and messages, said a police officer. The complainant managed to contact the suspects and demanded his money back, but the accused neither returned the money nor gave him possession of the flat.

Realizing they had been cheated, the complainant approached MIDC police and registered a case of cheating under sections 316 and 318(4) of the BNS against the accused.