Woman was sold premium flat in Gurgaon’s DLF Camellias for half the price, duped of Rs 12 crore

The woman took the bait.

“In August 2024, the complainant was approached by M/s MG Leasing & Finance. Representatives showed her meticulously forged documents — sale certificates, covering letters, and auction receipts — all purportedly from the State Bank of India,” DCP (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said.

Convinced, the woman transferred Rs 12.04 crore through RTGS and demand drafts between August and October last year. It was only later, when the bank confirmed every document was forged, that the victim realised that no such flat was available. A complaint was filed on June 13 this year.

Delhi Police Crime Branch’s Inter State Cell took up the case and traced the money trail. Bank statements confirmed the massive sum had been credited to an account of some proprietorship firm, owned by one Mohit Gogia. An extensive manhunt was launched across Delhi-NCR, Bhopal, and Mumbai. But the accused had, by then, gone underground.

The breakthrough in the case was made through technical surveillance and manual intelligence. On November 22 this year, a specialised team led by inspectors Satender Poonia and Sohan Lal tracked Gogia while he was fleeing from Mumbai towards Uttarakhand. He was apprehended near Doiwala on the Rishikesh-Dehradun Road.

Gogia disclosed the involvement of four others — all of whom were subsequently arrested. Property dealer Vishal Malhotra (42) had opened a current account with the HDFC Bank to receive and transfer the fraudulent funds. He withdrew large sums to hand over to one Ram Singh in exchange for commission. Sachin Gulati (40), who has a criminal history, allowed his IDFC First Bank account to be used for rotating the money.

Pathak (35), who introduced Gogia to the complainant and facilitated the deal, received a portion of the money. Bharat Chhabra (33) worked as a technical expert who helped in preparing the forged documents.

Gogia, according to police, would identify disputed, mortgaged, or bogus properties, then create fake title documents on Chhabra’s laptop. They duped people of money, which was layered through numerous bank accounts, firms, and people in order to conceal the trail. The funds eventually flowed to Ram Singh’s Babaji Finance, where they were circulated at high interest rates. Gogia retained 40 per cent of profits while Ram Singh kept 60 per cent.

Police records show that Gogia is wanted in 16 cases across Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa, dating back to 2019, all involving similar frauds with forged mortgage and auction documents.

Till now, the accused have duped people in multiple states of a total of over Rs 200 crore.

While the five key accused in this case have been arrested, including mastermind Gogia, the hunt continues for others, including Ram Singh alias Babaji.

“The accused lured victims on the pretext of premium properties at extremely low rates, produced forged documents, fake allotment letters and bogus registration drafts,” said DCP Gautam.

Police have seized two cars purchased with such funds that were being used by Ram Singh. Liens have been placed on linked bank accounts, and investigators are identifying several more beneficiaries in this nationwide network.