Latest news with #SitaramGupta
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Indian Express
ED raids 16 places in second round of crackdown against syndicate behind unauthorised constructions in Vasai-Virar
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at 16 locations in the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) region Tuesday in connection with a money laundering probe into an illegal building construction case, suspecting a well-oiled syndicate operating behind it. This is the second round of searches in the same case. In May, the agency raided 13 locations in Nalasopara, Vasai, and Virar near Mumbai and Hyderabad. It seized approximately Rs 8.6 crore in cash and Rs 23.25 crore worth of diamond-studded jewellery and bullion from the house of Y S Reddy, deputy director of town planning, Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC). Agency sources said the second round of searches primarily covers liaison officers, architects, and middlemen who allegedly coordinated between builders and VVMC officials. The ED's money laundering investigation is based on multiple FIRs registered by the Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar police commissionerate against builders, local henchmen and others for 'illegal construction of residential-cum-commercial buildings on government and private land' under the jurisdiction of VVMC since 2009. Earlier, the documents seized during previous searches revealed a large-scale scam involving illegal construction in the Vasai Virar area, with complicity from officials of VVMC, according to the ED. During the previous searches, ED covered the house of a former Bahujan Vikas Aghadi Party (BVA) corporator and an alleged criminal having links with a gangster. According to the ED, 41 illegal buildings in question were constructed on the land reserved for 'sewage treatment plant' and 'dumping ground' as per the approved development plan of Vasai Virar city. 'The accused builders and developers deceived the public at large by constructing illegal buildings on such land and subsequently selling it to them by fabricating approval documents,' the ED said. 'Even with prior knowledge that these buildings were unauthorised and would eventually be demolished, the developers misled the people by selling rooms in these buildings, thereby committing serious fraud,' the agency added. The 41 buildings were demolished on February 20, 2025, by the order of the Bombay High Court, which the Supreme Court later upheld. Families living in these buildings were left homeless. According to the ED, key perpetrators of the alleged scam in the VVMC area have been identified as Sitaram Gupta, Arun Gupta, among others. Reddy, the VVMC officer at the centre of the alleged fraud, was earlier arrested in April 2016 by the Thane unit of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) for allegedly offering Rs 25 lakh to a Shiv Sena corporator to stop going ahead with court cases against him.
Hans India
01-07-2025
- Hans India
ED searches 16 locations in Vasai-Virar land scam
Mumbai: In a crackdown against politician-builder-official nexus, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday searched 16 premises, including offices of architects, in a case related to illegal construction of homes and offices on 60 acres of government land in Maharashtra's Vasai-Virar region. On Tuesday, one of the ED teams searched a premises in Padmaraj building in Vasai West. The investigators arrived at the spot at 7 a.m. in two vehicles, said an area resident. As part of the land scam, the accused duped home and office buyers by fabricating documents and carrying out construction on government and private land, and selling these illegal properties to them, said an ED official, adding that 41 such illegal buildings were pulled down by civic agencies in February this year. The case pertains to "illegal construction of residential-cum-commercial buildings on government and private land" under jurisdiction of "Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC)" since 2009, the ED official said. It has been found that the key perpetrators of the large-scale scam in the jurisdiction of VVMC are Sitaram Gupta, Arun Gupta and others, including the civic agency's Deputy Director of Town Planning, Y.S. Reddy. In May, the ED had searched 13 different premises across Mumbai and Hyderabad, seizing cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 32 crore in the case related to illegal construction of homes and offices on government land in Vasai-Virar city. During searches at Reddy's premises, Rs 8.6 crore and diamond-studded jewellery and bullion worth Rs 23.25 crore were seized, an official said. Over a period of time, 41 illegal buildings were constructed on the land reserved for "Sewage Treatment Plant" and "Dumping Ground" as per the approved development plan of Vasai Virar city, he added. "Even with prior knowledge that these buildings were unauthorised and would eventually be demolished, the developers misled the people by selling rooms in these buildings, thereby committing serious fraud," the ED said in a statement. The federal agency said the Bombay High Court had on July 8, 2024, ordered the demolition of all 41 buildings. Thereafter, a Special Leave Petition was filed before the Supreme Court by the families residing in 41 illegal buildings, which was dismissed. The demolition of all 41 buildings was completed by VVMC on February 20, 2025. Maharashtra's fifth largest city, Vasai-Virar, is an agglomeration of four previously governed municipal councils: Vasai (Bassein), Virar, Nallasopara and Navghar-Manikpur, as well as a few towns to the east and west of the urban area. It lies in the Konkan division.
NDTV
01-06-2025
- NDTV
Fraudster Posing As Army Colonel Arrested From Old-Age Home In Punjab
New Delhi: A 77-year-old man who had been absconding for over a decade after jumping bail in a cheating case involving the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) was arrested from an old-age home in Punjab's Patiala, the Delhi Police said on Sunday. The accused, Sitaram Gupta, a native of Mansa in Punjab was impersonating as a Colonel in the Indian Army and duped people by offering flats and shops under fictitious AWHO schemes, police in a statement said. "Gupta, a postgraduate in Economics and History from Panjab University and a former student of ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had been evading trial in a 2007 cheating case registered at Vivek Vihar police station in Delhi," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Apoorva Gupta in the statement said. He allegedly took Rs 56,000 from a complainant after offering him a flat and shop under the AWHO scheme and issued forged receipts, the officer said. After his arrest in 2007 and subsequent release on bail, Gupta went underground and failed to appear before court, leading to the issuance of non-bailable warrants. On April 26 this year, the Karkardooma Court declared him a proclaimed offender. He had started his career as a contractor supplying oil to Army cantonments across India, the statement said. During this period, he gained insider knowledge of the Army's functioning, which he later used to impersonate as a senior Army officer and lure unsuspecting people with promises of employment and housing benefits. "He moved to Delhi in 1987 and began posing as a Colonel. He conned several people on the pretext of recruitment in the Army and real estate opportunities through AWHO," the DCP said. A special team was formed which was tasked with tracking Gupta. Based on a tip-off, the team conducted surveillance and zeroed in on the old-age home in Patiala where he was living under a false identity. "He had changed his appearance and cut off ties with his family to stay under the radar. After confirming his identity, he was apprehended from the shelter," the officer added. During interrogation, Gupta admitted to his involvement in multiple cases of cheating, including three other fraud cases registered with the Shakarpur police station and the Crime Branch in Delhi, related to fake Army job offers. Police said Gupta's wife has passed away and he has two children. He had been leading a secluded life to evade arrest, shifting locations and using different mobile numbers
Time of India
01-06-2025
- Time of India
77-year-old fraudster posing as Army Colonel nabbed by Delhi Police
New Delhi: A 77-year-old man who posed as a Colonel in the Indian Army to dupe people was traced to an old-age home in Punjab by Delhi Police 's Crime Branch. The accused, Sitaram Gupta alias Sitaram Singla, had been on the run for over a decade after jumping bail in a 2007 cheating case in Vivek Vihar. Gupta, a resident of Mansa, Punjab, allegedly took Rs 56,000 from a bank employee, offering a fake Army Welfare Housing Organisation flat and shop. "He handed over forged receipts. When the victim grew suspicious, a complaint was filed," a senior officer said. Declared a proclaimed offender, Gupta was found hiding in Patiala on May 31. "He changed his identity and appearance to avoid arrest," the officer said. Gupta told police he cut ties with his family and used knowledge of Army procedures to run frauds. He was earlier convicted in three fake Army job offer cases. Legal proceedings are underway.
Hans India
01-06-2025
- Hans India
Senior citizen defrauding people by impersonating Colonel arrested from Punjab
A senior citizen, who posed as a Colonel to cheat people on the pretext of providing them jobs in the Army and by offering flats in the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), was arrested from a Punjab old-age home, police said on Sunday. The accused, identified as Sitaram Gupta alias Sitaram Singla, 77, who was evading trial in a case of cheating and forgery registered against him in Delhi, was arrested on Saturday. During interrogation after his arrest, Gupta revealed that he left his home, family members, and changed his appearance and mobile number to avoid his detection by law enforcement agencies, Delhi's Deputy Commissioner of Police, Crime, Apooorva Gupta said. Gupta was wanted in connection with a 2007 fraud case of offering a flat and a shop in the AWHO. A case was registered against him on the complaint of Anil Nigam, a bank employee, who alleged that the accused had introduced himself as a Colonel rank officer posted in Delhi and offered a flat which was to be built by the AWHO. As per the complaint, Gupta also offered him to book a shop under the same scheme and took Rs 56,000 from him. Disappointed over not getting anything, Nigam filed a complaint at Vivek Vihar Police Station, and a case was registered there under relevant sections of cheating and forgery. After the investigation, the accused was arrested and later released on bail by the court. However, Gupta jumped bail and started living in an old-age home in Punjab. Initially, non-bailable warrants were issued against the accused, but he didn't appear before the court, after which he was declared a proclaimed offender. Police received a tip-off that Gupta was residing in an old-age home located in Punjab's Patiala by hiding his identity. Using advanced technical surveillance and human intelligence, a team comprising ASI Sanjeev, ASI Neeraj, HC Mintu Yadav, and HC Sawai from the ARSC, Shakarpur, Crime Branch, arrested him on Saturday. Born in Mandi Dabwali in Haryana's Sirsa in 1948, Gupta did his MA (History) and MA (Economics) from Panjab University and was reportedly a student of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when the latter was a professor there. "Sitaram Gupta, who worked as a contractor in the Indian Army, gained knowledge of various ranks of army officers and learned about the recruitment process of the Indian Army. He came to Delhi in 1987 and started working as an oil contractor. Besides work, he used to introduce himself as a Colonel of the Indian Army and started defrauding Delhiites. He took money from several youths on the pretext of giving them a job in the Indian Army," a statement issued by the police said. The accused was found involved in three cases of cheating and forgery registered at the Police Station Shakarpur and the Crime Branch in Delhi.
