Non-bailable arrest warrant issued against builder Sushil of Mantri Developers

Bengaluru: The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) in New Delhi has issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Sushil P Mantri of Mantri Developers Pvt Ltd.

The quasi-judicial commission issued the warrant dated September 2 and directed the Station House Officer (SHO) of Cubbon Park police station in Bengaluru to execute the warrant and produce Mantri at 10.30 am on September 23.

“You are hereby directed to execute this Non-Bailable Warrant of arrest against Mr Sushil Mantri, Chairman and Managing Director of the Judgment Debtor Company i.e. M/s. Mantri Estate Management Pvt. Ltd, and to produce him before this Hon'ble National Commission on 23.09.2024 at 10:30 A.M., the next hearing date in the case. Herein fail not,” the order signed by Iqbal Ahmed, Joint Registrar, said.

“A report on Execution of this Warrant of Arrest (Non-Bailable), be sent to this Registry at the earliest for placing it before the Hon'ble Commission on 23.09.2024 at 10:30 AM.”

A copy of the warrant, issued based on consumer complaint no 163 of 2020, was also sent to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central), Bengaluru.

However, the Cubbon Park police were yet to receive the order, a well-placed police source confirmed to DH.

Story so far

In 2020, a case was registered by the Subramanyapura police against Mantri, his wife Snehal S Mantri and their son Pratik S Matri.

Dhananjaya P, the complainant, had said that he had booked a flat in ‘Mantri Serenity’, promoted by Mantri Castles Pvt Ltd, an associate and subsidiary of Mantri Developers Pvt Ltd and alleged misrepresentation, money laundering and fraud on the ground that the homes were not delivered in time even after paying nearly Rs 60 to Rs 70 lakh as advance.

Dhananjaya also claimed that the funds collected from the homebuyers were diverted or misutilised for several other purposes and also the allotted flats had been mortgaged to the banks.

In August of that year, proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act were initiated by the Enforcement Directorate. He was arrested by the ED in 2022 for money laundering and the agency had attached immovable assets worth Rs 300.4 crore belonging to the Mantri Group and was released on bail. In September 2022, Mantri and his son were arrested by the Karnataka Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

The CID’s probe was based on six FIRs registered at the Cubbon Park police station in July 2019, some of which were quashed, on charges of cheating, and criminal breach of trust, among others. In October 2023, the case in Subramanyapura station was quashed by the Karnataka High Court, along with the subsequent ED proceedings.