Bengaluru: At least a dozen military personnel, including those from the army and the air force, have registered police cases against a Bengaluru-based realtor Srinivasa Gowda, 43, for cheating them to a tune of crores of rupees under the pretext of selling developed sites in North Bengaluru. There are also several other military personnel who have been cheated, but have not approached the police.
Seven army personnel (including commissioned officers, JCOs and jawans); four air force sergeants and one merchant navy personnel are among those cheated by Gowda, who operates from Yelahanka. While the seven army personnel had registered a case with Bagaluru police station in April this year, the five others registered a case with Yelahanka police in June.
Interestingly, there were only two FIRs lodged against the realtor, though 12 individuals have been cheated. As the defence personnel approached in two groups at Bagalur and Yelahanka police stations, the police conveniently registered two FIRs making one of them as the complainant and the rest as witnesses.
However, the defence personnel complained that the police have not made any progress. “They have neither arrested nor questioned the accused, which arouses suspicion that there is a nexus between the two,” said Akhil (name changed) an IAF sergeant from the Jalahalli Air Force Station to Deccan Chronicle.
“Managing Director and proprietor of Sree Durga Properties Srinivasa Gowda had advertised his upcoming projects as Durga North City in Marenahalli, Durga Elite in B.K. Halli in Jalahobli, Durga Aerovista in Begur Village and Durga Chaishalya in Shettigere in Doddajala through an NGO called Sainik Welfare Organisation of India,” the sergeant said.
“The regular 30x40 plots at Durga Elite were priced at Rs 2000 per square feet. Since we checked with the authorities for encumbrances and felt the titles were clear, we decided to go ahead with the deal.
Five of us paid Rs 1 lakh each for booking and then Rs 5 lakh each as we need to pay 25% of total sale value for preparing and executing sale agreements,” the sergeant said. The five personnel totally paid over Rs 30 lakh to Gowda, he added.
As there was hardly any progress at the sites, they approached Gowda, but he made lame excuses. Later when they started pestering him, he said a plot that was booked by one of sergeants has already been registered to another party in February, 2016. When they confronted Gowda, he conveniently replied that the sergeant would be provided another plot in the project.
Later they jointly met the owner of the 3.7-acre land - one Nanjundappa, who said there was a Memorandum of Understanding executed between him and Gowda in April 2015, But Nanjundappa said he had no land dealing or any relationship directly with the sergeants for the sale. He also said he did not get any money from Gowda.
The aggrieved personnel then approached the jurisdictional Yelahanka police and registered a case, where they learnt that a group of seven army officials have also registered a similar case in Bagalur police station, where they have been cheated to the tune of Rs 1.9 crore over a project named Durga North City.
