The company approached the owners of vacant homes through middlemen and offered them assistance in renting the property. Representative image
Credit: iStock Photo
Bengaluru: A property management consultancy has been accused of swindling many people out of crores of rupees.
On Monday, dozens of people gathered at Queen's Circle in the heart of the city and protested against Ziyu Homes Private Limited.
While the protesters said that the company had cheated more than 100 people, only 18 property owners have filed police complaints so far.
Considering the gravity of the case, the Central Crime Branch's Economic Offences Wing has taken over the investigation.
The CCB has identified at least five suspects, including the company's owner, Ahmed Ali Baig. Four of them have secured anticipatory bail from the court. Baig hasn't yet secured anticipatory bail in two cases and is on the run, a senior police officer overseeing the investigation told DH.
Same modus operandi
CCB investigations show that the company cheated all the people with the same modus operandi.
The company approached the owners of vacant homes through middlemen and offered them assistance in renting the property.
One of the victims was 72-year-old Saramma Jacob, whom the company contacted through a middleman in March this year.
Speaking to DH, Saramma said the company offered to manage her flat located in Hennur by renting it. She agreed and got an agreement prepared, stating that her flat should only be rented and not leased. She also categorically stated that she should get the documents from the tenants, according to documents accessed by DH.
Baig, however, leased the flat to a family by creating fake documents that showed him as the owner.
Saramma learnt about the fraud after the occupants contacted her. The occupants got to know that Saramma was the actual owner after the apartment society asked them to pay maintenance charges. The occupants replied that Baig, the "owner", had to pay maintenance charges as per the agreement. The society then told them that Saramma was the actual owner.
However, the occupants refused to vacate the flat, according to Saramma. "They aren't letting me enter my own property. They say they have a lease for it,” Saramma said.
Other victims that DH spoke to narrated a similar ordeal.
Police have asked other victims to file complaints by submitting the relevant documents.
The CCB officer quoted above said Baig co-owned a total of five companies, including Ziyu Homes, which was registered in 2019.