BDA unearths scam involving NPKL sites

Saplings planted at the newly formed NPKL by the Bangalore Development Authority. Special arrangement

Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) sleuths on Friday unearthed a major scam where fraudsters distributed fake letters on sites at the newly formed Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout (NPKL).

Probing the case, investigators raided the office of the Uttara Karnataka Pradesh Raitha Sangha in Chamarajpet a couple of days ago and recovered fake site agreement papers in BDA’s name, forged seals, and documents.

Following a complaint by Shivakumar Gunare, a police superintendent with the BESCOM vigilance wing, the Seshadripuram police registered an FIR against Vijayananda Swamy, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Raita Sangha, an official statement from the BDA revealed.

The BDA has asked citizens who have been cheated by the accused to file complaints with the Seshadripuram police.

How it unfolded

The scam came to light when a BDA customer who had paid Rs 3 lakh to Swamy and obtained a site agreement for six plots at NPKL approached BDA deputy secretary-1 for verification of the agreement copies.

Growing suspicious about the agreement, the official alerted BDA commissioner H R Mahadev. The matter was eventually transferred to the BDA vigilance wing for a detailed investigation.

Commenting on the scam, Mahadev said: “The accused had floated an association and was planning to enroll about 3,000 people by collecting Rs 15,000 as membership fee. He had already enrolled about 1,000 people and assured the members of getting BDA sites in NPKL at a discounted price.” The accused later forged the documents and used fake seals of the authority and distributed fake agreement letters in the name of BDA. Mahadev urged the public to be vigilant about fraudsters and asked them to complain if they come across such people.

Approved by the state government in 2008, NPKL sprawls over 4,043 acres between Mysuru Road and Magadi Road within the Yeshwantpur Assembly constituency.

Of the proposed land, BDA has 2,100 acres under its possession, while it had distributed sites of various dimensions to 10,000 allottees under phase 1 and phase 2.

The authority, however, came under criticism from allottees and RERA for failing to provide basic infrastructure amenities at the layout.