The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has filed a complaint at the Raopura police station, seeking an investigation into an alleged racket of impostors who duped 91 unsuspecting people out of Rs 1.2 lakh each in the name of building homes under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
The alleged racket was revealed after Dabhoi MLA Shailesh Mehta requested an investigation into the matter in a letter to the Municipal Commissioner on February 10.
Officials from the VMC’s Affordable Housing Department said on Friday that after receiving a letter from Mehta and the forged receipts for Rs 1.2 lakh each, the civic body wrote to the Raopura police station. According to Mehta, the scam was discovered when a worker at his petrol pump informed him of the “delay” after having paid the money in July 2021.
Mehta said, “I inquired into the matter and it came to light that the person had been fooled… Further inquiry showed that the impostor named Vikram Vanzara had taken a draft of Rs 20,000 in the name of VMC and an additional Rs 1.2 lakh through cash or cheques in his personal name. The drafts were never deposited into the VMC accounts although they even handed over forged receipts that looked almost real.”
Mehta said he has handed over all proof of the scam along with the name of the accused person, who received the cheques in his personal name from the ‘victims’. “The VMC has finally submitted a police application but the action could have been swifter. We are not sure if some lower-rung employee of VMC could be involved, but the impostor appears to be a novice given that he has received cheques in his own name and deposited them into his bank accounts.”
Mehta, in his letter to VMC, said, “I have been able to draw up a list of 91 persons, who have been fleeced. No one can tell how many people were cheated in Vadodara city. The scam involving 91 persons in itself amounts to Rs 1.09 crore. VMC should take legal steps into this serious matter and ensure that the culprit is booked.”