Manpreet Singh Chaddha alias Monty Chadha, son of deceased liquor baron Ponty Chaddha, was arrested by the Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police on Wednesday night from the Indira Gandhi International airport while he was leaving for Phuket.
Monty was booked by the EOW Delhi Police in January 2018 in a cheating case over allegations of duping the investors of over Rs 100 crore in a real estate project at NH24. In the FIR, it is alleged that Uppal Chadha Hi-Tech Developers Pvt Ltd did not deliver their promised hi-tech township in Ghaziabad. A case was registered under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) after a complaint was filed by K Ramesh, Kaveri Ramesh and others.
The complainants had claimed that the company launched a project in 2006 at NH-24, Ghaziabad, a year after the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) formulated a policy for the development of a Hi-Tech City, thereby providing a platform to real estate developers to develop smart townships with modern facilities at the place. The 29 victims who have approached the Police thus far booked lots sometime during 2005-05 after approximately paying a sum of Rs. 4.5 crores.
Monty had not been arrested until he made an attempt to flee the country. A Look-Out Circular (LOC) was issued 10-15 days ago as a consequence of the case registered against him and immigration authorities informed the Delhi Police based on it. An LOC is issued to prevent an accused or a suspect from leaving the country.
As per the FIR lodged in the matter, agents of the company “approached the public with an early-bird booking discount offer on plots in the proposed project… situated in the villages of Kachera, Dujana and Mehrauli of Ghaziabad. The possession of the plot was to be given within eight months from the date of allotment, as per the accused company’s documents”.
Additional CP (EOW) Suvashis Choudhary said, “The complainants received letters in November 2009 from the alleged company stating therein that all necessary licenses and approvals were obtained and the first phase of 1500 acres has been approved by the government. The details about sectors and plots were being finalized with the government.”
“In 2011, they received a demand letter signed by Vice President of the alleged company but to their utter shock and surprise the name of the company, the township and the address of the company were changed and all payments were sought in a new entity namely Wave City NH-24,” he added.
Coincidentally, Monty has ties with Tarun Tejpal, the disgraced founder-editor of Tehelka, who is accused of rape. According to a report by Indian Express, Monty’s father Ponty had decided to invest in a private club for elite Indians proposed by Tejpal after the latter made a business presentation on the concept of an exclusive private club. After Ponty was murdered in 2012, his son Monty decided to honour all his father’s business commitments. The establishment is called ‘Prufrock’.
