The Delhi Police Crime Cell has arrested a 57-year-old man for allegedly cheating around 2,000 people to the tune of Rs 3 crore on the pretext of providing cheap houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, police said on Thursday.
In addition, he also duped four advertisement agencies of Rs 1 crore on the pretext of inviting tenders for organising an event Rashtriya Awas Divas for the promotion of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
According to police, he used pictures of the Prime Minister and Minister of Housing and Poverty Alleviation in his website nhdoindia.org to fool people into thinking that his organisation was associated with the Government.
“The accused identified as Rajinder Kumar Tripathi (57) resident of Faridabad Haryana was managing a trust called National Housing Development Organisation (NHDO) in Nehru Place through which he duped 1500-2000 people,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ajit Kumar Singla.
“A team of Narcotics Cell of Crime Branch led by Inspector Brijpal Singh under close supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Bhisham
Singh and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Narcotics Cell) RK Ojha arrested the accused on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Under Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation,” he said.
According to police, the complainant alleged that chairman of NHDO was publishing unauthorised official photographs on its website to promote his organisation with malafide intentions.
The complainant further alleged that Ministry had received a complaint along with a forged letter dated on February 2017, allegedly written by chairman of NHDO, in which NHDO had been projected as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed under Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation.
“Simultaneously, another complaint was received from M/S Goldmine Advertising Ltd. regarding siphoning off money taken by chairman of NHDO on the pretext of inviting tenders for organizing an event “Rashtriya Awas Divas” for the promotion of “Pradhanmantri Awas Yojna”, following which three other companies came forward with similar allegations,” he added.
“He was arrested under sections 406, 420, 120 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 3 and 5 Emblem and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act at Crime Branch police station.
A case was also registered against him at Hauz Khaz police station for duping NGOs with the excuse of providing loans for the women of rural areas in 2004,” Singla said.
