BENGALURU: Complaints have started pouring in from people who have been duped by a four-member gang offering BDA sites. It is still not clear how many have been duped as people are approaching the police station one by one after news about the scam broke out last week.
Investigation by the Seshadripuram police has revealed that the gang, headed by Vijayananda Swami, had cheated people for over a year by producing fake documents pertaining to Kempegowda Layout. Two of them were arrested on June 12 and are in judicial custody while search is on for the other two.
Sums ranging between Rs 25,000 and Rs 4.8 lakh have been taken from individuals on the pretext of offering them sites if they join the organisation Uttara Karnataka Raitha Prathi Adyaksha, founded by Swami.
TNIE caught up with some victims. Advocate Varalakshmi was among those duped by Swami who used a person who sold stamps at the court premises to inform her about these sites being given at throwaway prices. “I decided to buy four 20ft x30ft sites, two each for my son and daughter. Over a period of one year, I have paid him Rs 2.1 lakh for them.
He would always be available at his Chamarajpet office when I went to visit him and came across as genuine. I informed my relatives and friends about the deal and 13 of them too have invested money with him,” she said. Swami had shown her documents which were issued by offices in Vidhana Soudha.Businessman Panchaksharayya, who runs an online clothing business, has handed over Rs 4.8 lakh for four sites -- for himself, his mother and two brothers.
“Everyone trusted my judgement and I trusted Fayaz (one of the gang members), whom I knew for nearly 12 years since my days at Koppal, who told me about this offer. I paid this amount just during the last 15 days. He took me to the spot and showed the sites too,” he said. Seshadripuram inspector Krishnamoorthy said that Swami and his accomplice Ramesh have been caught. “We are searching for Fayaz and his partner about whom we know nothing as of now,” he said.