NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police have charged an Army officer with defrauding a private construction company that was supposed to build residential flats in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu.
According to a charge sheet recently filed by the Delhi Police at Karkardooma Court, which was exclusively accessed by this paper, the accused, Colonel Ved Vrat Vaidya, and his brother Bharat Vaidya, allegedly cheated the construction company, Pacific Construction and Management, by misappropriating public funds, ultimately defrauding the public who had invested in the project.
The charge sheet was filed under sections 420 (cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust), 448 (punishment for house-trespass) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code. The case dates back to 2008, when Vikas Madaan, managing director of the company entered into an agreement with Bharat Vaidya for the construction of 196 flats and apartments on land owned by him in Kullu. Madan stated that although the land belonged to Bharat Vaidya, all dealings were conducted by his elder brother, Colonel Vaidya.
A year later, Bharat Vaidya entered into an irrevocable collaboration agreement and executed the General Power of Attorney of the company. However, in 2013, instead of seeking an extension, the accused cancelled the power of attorney through a registrar. Following this, Vikas Madan approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court, resulting in a stay order.
As progress stalled, Madan regstered an FIR against the accused brothers for the first time at Laxminagar Police Station in Delhi. Meanwhile, parties, PCM and the Vaidya brothers, reached a compromise, considering the public money involved.
However, the project again faced setbacks and remained stalled. The accused brothers approached the Delhi HC, seeking to quash the FIR against them. The court directed the police to file the charge sheet promptly. On November 21, the court took cognisance of charge sheet and set January 9, 2024, as the next hearing date.