Bengaluru Real Estate: A buyer approaches the police after a developer sells his flat to a new buyer

A homebuyer who had invested in a residential project in Bengaluru has approached the city police after Bengaluru-based developer Ozone Group allegedly resold his flat to a new buyer.

Bipul Bhattacharya, a buyer, has approached the Devanahalli police station seeking registration of an FIR against the developer after he alleged that his apartment in the Urbana Avenue project, located in Devanahalli, North Bengaluru, was resold in June 2023.

Both sales documents accessed by HT.com show that apartment No. 503, with 1,093 square feet of carpet area on the fifth floor of Tower Q, has been resold to a new buyer.

Officers at Devanahalli police station confirmed to HT.com that preliminary investigation is underway and an FIR will be lodged within 3-4 days.

Read also: Karnataka RERA issues recovery orders for amounts over ₹707 crores; 88% of the amount still pending

“I booked the apartment in 2017 with a possession date of 2019. The cost of the apartment was ₹87 million. However, the apartment remains incomplete to this day. I was shocked that it was resold to a new buyer,” Bhattacharya said.

“We have sought help from several forums, including the NCLT and the Karnataka High Court. In November 2021, the High Court intervened and ordered a stay of the EMI proceedings against my name, which provided significant relief,” he said.

A list of questions has been sent to the developer and the story will be updated as responses are received.

This follows another FIR lodged against the developer in October last year for resale of the file apartment in the same project.

Delayed project

Ozone Urbana is a 16-minute drive from Bengaluru airport and spreads over an area of ​​55 acres. Although construction began in 2014, the project remains stalled with numerous complaints pending at Karnataka RERA. Aleja Ozone Urbana has over 800 apartments.

In the first week of February 2024, the Karnataka High Court gave the state government four months to recover the money of homebuyers from the delayed project. The KRERA document shows that the Ozone group has huge obligations to homebuyers ₹93.6 crore returns.

Read more: Bengaluru buyers association files FIR against developer for cheating ₹3,300 crores

Previous FIR filed

In December, the Bengaluru Crime Branch had registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the promoters of Ozone Group following a complaint filed by Ozone Urbana Residents Welfare Association (RWA) for cheating buyer above ₹3,300 crore, according to HT.com.

The FIR mentions that the company has collected over ₹1,500 crore through mortgage loans on behalf of buyers through various banks and collected directly ₹1,800 crore in total from buyers ₹3,300 crores.

In October last year, another buyer, Shashikanta Gupta, had lodged an FIR against the developer for resale of his flat in the same development. According to the FIR, the apartment was supposed to be handed over in 2022, but it was resold to a new buyer in November 2021.

“More than 90 days have passed since the FIR was filed and information so far shows that the investigation is ongoing,” Gupta said.