Hyderabad: TTD member held for over Rs 500-crore realty project fraud

HYDERABAD: The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) member Boodati Lakshmi Narayana was arrested by Hyderabad Central Crime Station (CCS) sleuths on Friday for allegedly cheating customers in the pretext of pre-launch offer in a high-rise project. Narayana is the MD of of Sahiti Infratec Ventures India Pvt.
The arrest comes four months after investors lodged multiple complaints in different police stations and staged protest in front of Sahiti's Jubilee Hills office.He is accused of launching several projects in the vicinity of Hyderabad and duping more than 2,500 customers of ₹900 crore.
CCS officials said that Narayana collected ₹539 crore from 1,700 people for a project in Ameenpur with 38 floors named Sahiti's Sarvani Elite spread over 23 acres. Cops said that Narayana collected money in the guise of pre-launch offer despite not having permission from municipal authorities.
"The project failed to materialise and Narayana promised to return the money with 15-18 % interest per annum. He also issued cheques, but they bounced," a cop said..
Police have appealed to the public not to fall prey for pre-launch offers by real estate companies.