The Bandra police have arrested a man for allegedly defrauding a 55-year-old polio-affected woman by luring her with the promise of a flat in an ongoing construction project in Bandra. The accused also told the victim that she would be refunded double her investment if the flat was not given to her in 15 months.
According to the police, the complainant Yasmin Abdul Saudagar resides with her family in a residential apartment at LG Road in Mahim. Her husband, Khalil, is into the tours and travels business, while her brother Ashfaq Saudagar deals in luxury cars.
Yasmin, who suffers from polio, told the police that in 2016, her brother introduced her to the accused, Fahid Mehmood Qadri. He told her that Quadri lived in Bandra and was a builder who had several ongoing projects.
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Ashfaq added that Quadri was in the process of constructing a building on Perry Cross road in Bandra for which he had gotten permission from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to construct a two-storey structure. He mentioned that they needed more funds to complete their project and asked her to invest ₹1.30 crore in the venture, promising her either a handsome financial return or a 1,050-sq-ft flat in their building.
Trusting her brother, Yasmin handed over ₹50 lakh in cash and a cheque worth ₹50 lakh to Qadri. She then sent them an additional ₹30 lakh in cash. An agreement regarding the sale and purchase was also carried out, and it stated that Yasmin would be allotted a flat on the 6th floor, and would get the flat by September 2021. The agreement further added that if the flat was not given to her, she would be paid ₹2.60 crore, double her initial investment.
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However, despite the additional funds, Quadri failed to finish the construction of the building. As of 2023, Yasmin had still not received the flat and she then began asking them for ₹2.60 crore as per their agreement.
“But, they neither handed over the flat nor refunded the invested amount. Fahid, acting in collusion with Bilkis Qadri and Mehmood Qadri, hatched a conspiracy to induce Yasmin Saudagar to invest in the building project; they subsequently misappropriated the ₹1.30 crore obtained from her,” said a police officer from Bandra police station.
The woman then approached Bandra Police. Acting on her complaint, the police registered a case against the accused on charges of criminal conspiracy, misappropriation of funds, and fraud and immediately upon the registration of the case, all three accused absconded. The police then launched a special operation to track them down.
The accused, Fahid Mehmood Qadri, remained elusive for around two and a half years, however he was finally arrested on Monday. Following his arrest, he was produced before the local court in Bandra. The court has remanded him to police custody.
