MAHBUBNAGAR : The ongoing probe into irregularities in allotment of houses under the 2BHK dignity housing scheme in Mahbubnagar has opened a Pandora’s box.The scam, in which fraudsters made merry by collecting lakhs of rupees from unsuspecting people and handed them fake allotment letters for the 2BHK houses constructed at Divitipally village near Mahbubnagar town, came to light on September 27 when the Revenue officials inspected the colony and found that people who were not allotted any houses were staying there.
On cross-checking with the list of beneficiaries, officials had found that some houses were given to non-beneficiaries by producing forged and fake allotment letters. Following their findings, the officials filed a case with Mahbubnagar Rural police, who arrested as many as 10 fraudsters, including K AkshayKumar, whose father K Devender works as the liaison officer for Excise Minister V Srinivas Goud.
Two cases filed
Besides the officials, two other victims also filed police cases, complaining that they were cheated by the frausters.According to police complaint, Syed Kalam Pasha, 41, who had worked as the driver for Devender, was allotted a house (No B-120) with the recommendation of Minister Srinivas Goud. However, Pasha changed his mind after he had seen a grave located too close to his house and requested Devender to allot another house. That request was rejected.
Meanwhile, Pasha struck a deal with Akshay, who offered to “reallot” the house on payment of `30,000. As Akshay asked him to refer more people who were looking for 2BHK houses, Pasha referred Etheshauddin, who gave Rs 70,000 to Akshay. As the work was not done, Pasha grew suspicious and complained to Mahbubnagar Rural police on September 29.
In another such case, Vanaganti Prakash, 52, and Mohd Irfan, 53, both residents of Mahabubnagar town, have duped Bairwade Sudhakar, 45, also a resident of Mahabubnagar, by assuring him that they knew officials in the MRO’s office and they could get him a 2BHK house for Rs 2.5 lakh. They also asked him to refer more people, saying six more houses were vacant and ready for allotment.
While Sudhakar paid Rs 2 lakh, people he referred Langoti Anand, A Ganesh and B Ganesh paid Rs 1.5 lakh, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively to the two accused. After waiting for a long time, when the victims were not convinced with the accused’s explanation, Sudhakar lodged a complaint with police on September 27.
The accused in both these cases have been arrested by Mahabubnagar rural police on Friday. As per the directions from Minister Srinivas Goud, Mahabubnagar Urban MRO B Parthasarathi has filed a police complaint, after which six more persons were arrested.
According to sources, only “small fish” involved in the scam were caught while the “big fish” managed to escape.There are 1,024 2BHK houses built in Divitipally which were inaugurated by MAUD Minister KT Rama Rao just before 2018 elections, but only a few houses were allotted to the beneficiaries.
As the allotments were not made and there was no transparency in releasing the list of beneficiaries, fraudsters have been making merry by going to the extent of forging Revenue documents and duping innocent people. Mahbubnagar SP R Venkateshwarlu and Collector S Venkata Rao couldn’t be reached for comment.