Delhi Police bust property fraud racket, accused held; Rs 2 crore fraud unearthed

New Delhi, April 16 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Delhi Police on Thursday busted a major property fraud case, with the arrest of an accused involved in executing a fraudulent lease deed, police officials said. The accused, Ravindra Garg, was also previously declared a proclaimed offender in another property fraud case.

According to the police, the accused was arrested in connection with a cheating case involving the fraudulent lease of a residential property, in which a visually impaired victim was duped of Rs 14.5 lakh.

During the investigation, a larger fraud of nearly Rs 2 crore involving multiple victims came to light.

The case dates back to December 29, 2025, when a complaint was lodged at DBG Road Police Station regarding cheating under the pretext of leasing a property.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered under Sections 406, 417, 420, and 506 of the IPC.

The complainant, a visually impaired employee of Indian Railways, was searching for a house on lease when he came into contact with the accused.

Accused Ravindra Garg offered a property located at Joshi Road in Karol Bagh, and executed a notarised lease deed after finalising the deal for Rs 14.5 lakh, which was duly paid by the victim.

However, when the complainant went to take possession of the property, he discovered that it had already been taken over by a finance company due to loan default.

Further inquiry revealed that the accused had taken a home loan of Rs 98 lakh in 2017 and defaulted on repayment, leading to the property being seized.

Despite being fully aware of this, the accused dishonestly induced the victim in 2019 to part with his money.

To investigate the case, a dedicated police team comprising Sub-Inspector Harvinder Singh, Head Constable Suneet Kumar, and Woman Constable Tanisha was formed under the supervision of Randhir Singh, the Station House Officer of DBG Road, and the Paharaganj Assistant Commissioner of Police.

During the investigation, it was found that the accused had been deliberately evading arrest by frequently changing his mobile numbers and shifting locations.

Police conducted a detailed analysis of call detail records (CDRs) of his previously used mobile numbers to establish links and generate fresh leads.

Through sustained technical surveillance, the police identified a newly activated mobile number linked to the accused.

The analysis provided crucial location inputs, which, along with information from a secret informer, led the police to his whereabouts in Delhi's Nangal Devat village.

A targeted raid was conducted, and the accused was found working as a taxi driver. He was subsequently apprehended.

During police questioning, Ravindra Garg, a 51-year-old resident of Uttar Pradesh's Hapur, admitted to concealing the mortgaged status of the property and cheating multiple victims by offering the same property for lease or sale. He disclosed that he had been living independently.

The accused also revealed that he had invested the cheated money in a tourist transport business, which eventually failed.

Police said the accused followed a well-planned modus operandi by offering the same property to multiple individuals, mortgaging it to financial institutions, collecting large sums of money through bank transfers and cash, and then absconding after switching off his phones.

Efforts are underway to trace the defrauded amount and identify the accused's movable and immovable assets for legal action, including property attachment.

Police records show that the accused was previously involved in multiple cases. He was declared a proclaimed offender in a 2019 case by the Tis Hazari court on April 7, and proceedings under Section 82 of the CrPC had already been initiated against him in another case.

The accused has been arrested in the present case and remanded to judicial custody.

Further investigation is ongoing, and police are verifying his involvement in similar cases across other jurisdictions.

Source: IANS