Cops finally manage to bust racket five months after it came to light
Cops finally manage to bust racket five months after it came to light
The police have arrested Manivannan, director of JBJ City Developers, in connection with a Rs 7 crore realty scam. With his arrest, the scam that used film stars as brand ambassadors to lure unsuspecting buyers has finally been busted, five months after the matter came to light.
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LURING BUYERS: An advertisement of the JBJ City Developers |
The police say Manivannan was the scam kingpin, and had declared him an absconder since he was on the run till his arrest.
The case came to light when people complained that the company was refusing to pay the money back, after they failed to allot sites. Indiranagar police had arrested Shivakumar S, director, Justin Devadas, the chairman and MD of the company, and one other person. The police recovered Rs 10 lakh and other important documents belonging to the company. Later, the City Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari handed over this case to Central Crime Branch (CCB) for further investigation. After the CCB's investigation it was found that the company had cheated people of Rs 7 crore in Bangalore, and more than Rs 20 crore in Tamil Nadu.
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PAST ARREST: Justine Devdas, CMD of JBJ City Developers, was among the early arrests in the case |
JBJ City Developers had their business offices in Chennai and Bangalore, and cheated people from the middle-class by not registering land for the amount paid, which was in lakhs. Instead they issued several cheques, which could not be cashed. When the buyers approached JBJ, they were threatened.
This firm had advertised sale of 60' X 40' plots in outskirts of Bangalore, with an initial installment of Rs 45, 000. The company collected Rs 1, 80,000 from each person, and promised people that they would return their money doubled in one year, but never did. The company used film stars in their advertisements to investment in the scheme. They had also appointed executives to convince people to invest in the scheme.
"I bought a 60' X 40' site for Rs 12.5 lakh from the builders. When I went to the registrar's office to check the property details, I learnt that it was bogus and was already registered in some one else's name," one of the victims told MiD DAY.
PI Kishore Bharani, Indiranagar said, "We had arrested a few of them in this connection and later the police commissioner ordered the CCB to investigate. Now they have arrested the prime accused, and at present the company doesn't exist in Bangalore."
The police are asking assistance from their TN counterparts in this matter. The company was started in Chennai and moved to Bangalore in 2006.
