Man arrested for offering EWS flats through fake GDA website

Ghaziabad, Mar 16: A person has been arrested here for allegedly trying to dupe people by hosting a fake Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) website and email account through which he was offering LIG flats for sale under a scheme of the agency, which has already closed.

Officer on Special Duty with GDA, DP Singh, said that an FIR has been registered in this regard against one Prem Chaudhary alias Prem Shankar, a resident of Govindpuram. The accused is alleged to have created a fake GDA website and two fake email ids as part of his plan to dupe gullible buyers.

His ploy was exposed when some people from economically weaker sections went to the GDA office to enquire whether any scheme offering builders' flats at reduced prices was on after the closure of the scheme had been advertised on its website.

GDA had closed the builders' project scheme for LIG flats for economically-weaker sections on December 31, 2014. Prem was charging Rs 30,000 from gullible buyers, saying that was the payment they would have to make to register for the scheme. A total of 12 persons have been allegedly duped of Rs 5 lakh by the accused, Singh said.

Police have seized a laptop and some documents relating to recruitment in Railway Board and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation from the accused, he added. The OSD appealed to the general public to dial the GDA helpline or visit its enquiry counter to verify any information regarding GDA schemes prior to submitting applications for the same.

PTI