Hyderabad: Cheated, 200 go to top cop for probe

Hyderabad: About 200 people, allegedly duped by Global Taj Pride Services, approached Hyderabad police commissioner Anjani Kumar on Saturday seeking justice. The company is stated to have offered holiday packages, lottery and land in exchange for money deposits but failed to keep its promise.

It is estimated that approximately 3,200 people have lost crores of rupees after investing in Global Taj Pride. The depositors charged that the Narayanguda police were lax in their investigation. They sought action against company officials M. Shiva Kumar, Shaik Salauddin and Shafi.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Mr S. Venkatesh Rao, who stated he paid `2.7 lakh, said, “Global Taj Pride Services and Eliton Infra Developers hired some employees, who offered a lottery to people and took their details. The companies would then call people and tell them they had won the lottery. When people came to collect the prize amount, they were offered lifetime holiday packages on payment of `40,000 and free accommodation throughout the world.”

If they refused, the companies lured them with a variety of other offers, including a flat located one km from the highway on payment of `1.4 lakh. The companies promised registration of property within 45 days of payment, but this never happened, he said.

Ms Rebecca, a homemaker, who has also lodged a complaint with the Narayanguda police, said she and her husband had paid Eliton Infra Developers `2.9 lakh for a flat at Aleru on the Warangal highway. The company kept postponing the registration. When she went to the office on September 15, she found the company had cheated many others.

Asked about the complaints, Abids ACP G. Biksham Reddy said, “There is no laxity. We are investigating the case. We have identified that the fraud extended to other police station areas also and are gathering information.”