MHADA flats racket busted in Mumbai; one held

The Mumbai police's crime branch arrested a 42-year-old man and claimed to have busted a racket that cheated people with the promise of selling MHADA flats at rates lower than the market price, police said on Saturday.

The scam came to light after a Tilaknagar resident approached the crime branch's property cell with a complaint that he has cheated of Rs 12 lakh with a promise of a flat in a Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) building in the suburbs, an official said.

An offence of cheating was registered at Tilaknagar police station, following which Sachin Dhuri, a resident of Lower Parel in central Mumbai, was arrested on Thursday, he said.

Further probe revealed that several others were involved in the racket along with Dhuri, who created fake documents of flats and cheated people, he said.

Many others have come forward with similar complaints against the accused, the official said.

The police were now verifying the authenticity of documents used by the accused and role of others, including MHADA officials, in the racket, he added.