Authorities probing the case involving construction of illegal buildings using counterfeit seals of government agencies in Mumbai’s Vasai-Virar are fearing that over 350 buildings in the region might have been established by the scam’s suspected mastermind Prashant Patil and his associates, reports said on Saturday.
According to reports by Mid Day, Law enforcement officials now estimate that the magnitude of the scam could amount to a staggering Rs 9,000 crore. The estimate is following examination of a hard disk confiscated from Patil which contains more than 20,000 folders.
Preliminary investigation into have discovered that the accused had constructed 55 residential societies within the jurisdiction of the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) using counterfeit documents. They subsequently sold flats to 3,500 families.
As per the report, Virar police have identified approximately 80 files related to buildings that were established by the accused using forged documents and fraudulent completion certificates (CC). Since the perpetrators used a single CC and a set of fake documents to construct multiple buildings, law enforcement suspects that they are potentially accountable for a substantial total of 350 illegal structures proliferating across Vasai and Virar.
In connection with the case, authorities have arrested give people. These include Dilip Benvanshi, the proprietor of Rudransh Developers, his associate Prashant Patil, and their collaborators Machindra Vanmane, Dilip Adhkale and Rajesh Naik. The accused are believed to have engaged in fraudulent activities targeting home buyers since 2015.
The Virar police have confiscated a total of 115 counterfeit seals from various government agencies that were found in their possession as per reports.
According to Senior Inspector Rajendra Kamble of the Virar police station, two clerks from MahaRERA (Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority) were summoned to the police station as part of the investigation. During the interaction, the police inquired about the project registration process and the permission granted for the 55 illegal buildings. The MahaRERA officials explained that they receive files online through their portal, review the documents, and grant permission. However, they acknowledged not cross-checking the documents with municipal corporations before giving approval.
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