Senior citizen 'cheated' of flats with fake signatures

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A shocking real estate fraud has come to light in Bengaluru, where a 71-year-old woman was allegedly cheated in a racket wherein her signatures were forged to open fake bank accounts in her name and nearly Rs 1.9 crore was siphoned off in loans from banks.

According to police, the victim, Mary Harriet, a resident of RT Nagar and a sister at a local church, owns three flats in an apartment at Kaval Byrasandra. She had entrusted the sale of her flats to a real estate agent named Anurag through her personal assistant, Suriya. She handed over her Aadhaar, PAN card, and other documents required for the sale last month.

However, instead of carrying out a legitimate sale, Anurag allegedly forged her signatures and created fake ownership records with the help of officials at the Ganganagar and Byatarayanapura sub-registrar offices. Using these forged documents, the accused reportedly ‘sold’ two of the flats to buyers named Hemant Kumar and Vishnu without Mary’s knowledge.

Fake accounts, fake owners, real money

Police say the fraud went further — fake bank accounts were opened in Mary’s name at Bank of Maharashtra and Arjun Souharda Pattina Sahakari Niyamit Co-operative Society. Using forged documents and the false ownership deeds, loans worth Rs 1.9 crore were sanctioned. The money was then transferred to Anurag’s personal accounts.

The fraud came to light only recently when bank representatives contacted Mary about repayment and she realised she had been duped. So far, Devarajeevanahalli police have registered an FIR against 11 people, including the prime accused Anurag, sub-registrars Shanthamurthy and Vasude- vamurthy, and Canara Bank manager Anwar.

According to the complaint, the sub-registrars allegedly helped facilitate the fraudulent transfers. Investigators suspect that Hemant Kumar and Vishnu, who purchased the two flats, could also be involved as they have not yet taken possession of the properties despite ‘buying’ them.

Police say they have already visited the property sites, recorded statements, and begun collecting documents related to the transactions. All evidence will be scrutinised and if the charges are proven, arrests will follow. The case highlights once again how vulnerable senior citizens can be to real estate fraud.