BENGALURU: A former bank manager has lodged a complaint with the JP Nagar police, alleging that the housing cooperative society of the bank, in connivance with a developer, had cheated 320 people by selling sites near Devanahalli.
AV Satyanarayana, who retired as a manager of the erstwhile State Bank of Mysore, has alleged that a few persons working in the bank introduced themselves as office-bearers of the State Bank of Mysore Officers Housing Cooperative Society Ltd in 2006.
They claimed that one Kishore of JP Golden Homes Property Pvt Ltd, and others were developing a residential layout at Singarahalli village in Devanahalli taluk. The accused allegedly claimed they had taken legal opinion from the bank’s legal adviser and that the latter had given approval. The Association also issued a circular stating that the rate was Rs 550 per sqft for sites at the proposed layout.
“Trusting their words, my colleagues, friends, and I purchased sites there and the same was registered through JP Golden Homes Property Pvt Ltd. But the developer did not develop the layout though several years have elapsed. As the layout is located close to the international airport, approval of the Bangalore International Airport Area Planning Authority (BIAAPA) was needed. Though the Authority had rejected the developer’s proposal in 2006, it was not disclosed to the buyers and sites were sold after converting the land from agricultural to non-agricultural purpose,” Satyanarayana stated in the complaint.
To the shock of the buyers, the conversion of the land was also deemed invalid by the Deputy Commissioner of Bengaluru Rural district in November last year, citing that the layout was illegal. “This has left around 320 senior citizens, most of them retired employees of the bank, in doldrums,” Satyanarayana said.
Based on his complaint, the JP Nagar police have registered an FIR and have booked the developer, four office-bearers of the housing cooperative society, and others for criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy. Further investigations are on.