In another case of real estate fraud, more than a dozen people have allegedly been conned by JTL Projects Private Limited, a company which promised apartments at Chakkaraparambu near Vytilla.
People who booked apartments from 2006 to 2008 at the West Isle Castle project of the JTL, each paying anywhere between `20 to `30 lakh for a flat, have reportedly not yet received the flats.
They said they are planning to take legal action against the company. The investors had reportedly been waiting for years for the flats, but in vain.
In a press meet held here, they said they were convinced that they were being cheated.
“The company had collected crores from customers like us. Initially, we did not know each other, later we were tipped by a staffer inside the company and we prepared a list of all buyers. Only when we started contacting each other that we came to know about the extend of the fraud,” said Subhash George, secretary, West Castle Isle Apartment Owner’s Association, an action committee of people who booked flats in the project.
“They accepted booking from two people for the same flat. The company registered six flats in ‘Binami’ names and loans have been taken from two different banks pledging the same property. It is learnt that the banks are moving to attach the property as they have defaulted in payments. By pledging the documents of the 10-floor building of the flat complex, they have also taken `1 crore as loan from an individual in Chennai in spite of the fact that they had sold the land proportionately to others. By the request of one of the buyer to wind up the company, the Ministry of Company Affairs has initiated action to liquidate the company,” he said.
The buyers have filed a police complaint against the company eight months before. “We were called to the Palarivattom and North Police station several times for questioning but the company officials did not cooperate with the investigation,” said the lawyer of the buyers. According to them, the company was run by a couple initially and later the husband dropped out from the project.
The wife, who is at present the director of the company, had offered to settle the dispute by returning each buyer his investment plus an interest of 18 per cent in three payments before February 15, said Subhash. However, this has also turned out to be a false promise, he added.
When contacted, the police officials ar the North Station, where the association had filed a complaint, was unable to comment on the progress of investigation. “We can comment only after studying the file,” said the North CI.
Meanwhile, the association said it has complained to the DCP alleging lax in investigation.
The officials of the builders group was unavailable to comment.