Mumbai Police bust MHADA housing scam, two men arrested

The suspects who are habitual cheaters were arrested by Cyber police, BKC, for creating a fake website of MHADA.

The Cyber police station at BKC arrested two men for creating a fake website of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and allegedly collected money from the public towards registration for the housing lottery scheme.

According to the police, the fake website was functional for over a month, until it was brought down after MHADA officials lodged an FIR. The police suspect that many citizens may have been duped by this fraud. The police have identified 6-7 bank accounts in which the money has been credited. These bank accounts would now be frozen, the police said.

According to the police, the suspects created a fake website as MHADA had begun the process of registering for the housing lottery scheme. "The fraudsters on the website asked the victims to pay money in advance for the housing lottery scheme," said the police.

The investigation by the Cyber police station led them to suspects identified as Kaplesh Sevak, 35 and Amol Patel, 29. Both the suspects were arrested on the night of August 17.

According to the police, Sevak had made the phishing website and Patel impersonated an MHADA officer. "Both the accused have been professional cheaters and have been booked in several cases across the city," said a police officer.

The police arrested Sevak from Mahim and Patel from Nallasopara. The police have blocked the website and are identifying the victims of the scam

"The FIR was lodged based on the information of MHADA officials and we are currently identifying the victims of the scam. We suspect that the amount of the scam may increase," said a police officer from Cyber police station, BKC.

In 2016, Sevak was previously booked by the Bhoiwada police as it is alleged that he had provided a fake recruitment letter to a victim for a job in Mantralaya as a peon.

The Cyber police had booked two people under section 319 for cheating by personation, 336 for forgery and other sections of the BNS and under relevant sections of the IT Act.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) Datta Nalawade while speaking to mid-day, said, "We request the citizens to be aware of the phishing websites and check the authenticity of the websites to avoid frauds. In case of a cyber fraud, the citizens should contact the Cyber Helpline Number 1930."

The genuine website and the process

1. Register on the official website: https://housing.mhada.gov.in/

2. Create a username and password

3. Choose the desired lottery scheme from the options which are available

4. Pay the required registration fees (the amount will vary based on the economic category of the applicant).

Rs 50 lakh

The present estimate of the scam