Owner sells property attached by Income Tax Department to Couple

A school teacher and her husband were duped out of Rs 80 lakh by a flat owner who sold them an apartment in Kandivli that the Income Tax Department had already attached. Deepali More, the complainant, found out about it when she went to the housing society to get a no-objection certificate. The police in Samta Nagar have registered a case and arrested both the flat owner and the real estate agent who introduced the complainant to the accused.

More used to live in Mira Road with her husband and 18-year-old daughter, and she was planning to buy a House Property in Kandivli for her daughter’s higher education. More had sold her Mira Road flat for Rs 67 lakh in 2018 and was looking for apartments in Kandivli when a real estate agent, Rajiv Mishra, approached her. Mishra then took the Mores to Sanjeev Pradhan’s 1BHK flat in Thakur Village, Kandivli East.

After inspecting the flat and meeting Pradhan, the couple agreed to a price of Rs 1.14 crore. Pradhan informed them that he owns a hotel and other properties in Mumbai. He also claimed that all of his properties were clean and that all of the necessary payments had been made. Mores then paid R80 lakh, signed the agreement, and completed the flat’s registration.

When the family decided to move into that flat, they discovered from the society office that the flat had been attached by the Income Tax Department in 2014 due to non-payment of tax. The couple then approached Pradhan and demanded that their money be returned, but the accused refused and threatened them. As a result, the couple approached the police.

“We have registered a case against Rajiv Pradhan, Rashmi Pradhan (flat owners), and the agent Rajiv Mishra under sections 426, 420, 504, 506, 120(B), and 34 of the IPC for mischief, cheating, criminal intimidation, criminal conspiracy, and common intention.” “We’re looking into it further,” said a police officer from the Samta Nagar police station.