Additional District Sub-Registrar (ADSR) of Durgapur, Shantanu Pal, has lodged a written complaint against the owners of an alleged fake real estate company accused of forging land documents and duping hundreds of people after collecting large sums of money.
Sanjib De, Officer-in-Charge of Durgapur police station, under the Asansol-Durgapur Police Commissionerate (ADPC), has already initiated investigations following receipt of the official complaint.
According to sources, the company’s owners had promised to build townships in areas such as Bamunara, Fulljhore, Gopalmath and Panagarh, and allegedly collected huge amounts from prospective buyers. Advertisements were issued for “green townships” in these localities, leading several hundred people to deposit money in hopes of securing homes.
Later, buyers discovered that the land deeds were fraudulent and lodged complaints with the land department and registrar.
Similar allegations have surfaced in Newtown, Kolkata, where the company reportedly cheated hundreds more. The Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate has also received a separate complaint and launched its own investigation.
In his complaint, the ADSR of Durgapur highlighted fraudulent sale deeds linked to 99 Builders Private Limited. The company’s owners, based in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, are suspected to have fled. Police have indicated that raids will be conducted.
Ram Pratap Singh, identified as the principal owner, is believed to have fled abroad after amassing large sums from victims across West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Another owner, Ram Pal Inder Singh, is also absconding, police said.
Bidyut Ghosh, an agent residing at Ambuja Colony in Durgapur’s City Centre, allegedly collected large sums on behalf of the company. A complaint has also been lodged against him.
Incidentally, during his tenure as Chairman of the Asansol Durgapur Development Authority (ADDA), Tapas Banerjee had issued a notification prohibiting the sale and purchase of hundreds of mini-townships and real estate projects mushrooming along both sides of national highway 19 from Barakar to Panagarh, including remote rural areas.
During the expansion of the erstwhile Delhi-Kolkata Grand Trunk Road into the Golden Quadrilateral Highway (four-laning), the then Left Front government had also halted land registrations along both sides of NH-2 (now NH-19) from Barakar to Panagarh.