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A man who had been absconding for the past five months after allegedly duping a woman of nearly ₹27 lakh by promising cheap MHADA flats and commercial units under the Chief Minister's quota has been arrested by Dahisar Police. The accused, identified as Raj Hiralal Shah, was taken into custody recently and is currently in police remand. During interrogation, Shah was found to have similarly defrauded several people by luring them with promises of MHADA flats and shops at below-market rates under special CM quota schemes. The complainant, Shilpa Kondekar, is a resident of Magathane in Borivali. Her husband works as an IT manager in a private company in Fort. The scam began in November 2020 during her visit to her maternal uncle, Pramod Dattatray Balkawade, who had informed her about the alleged opportunity to purchase MHADA flats at subsidised rates in Kandivali’s Mahavir Nagar through his friend Raj Shah. Shah allegedly showed the family several residential flats in Magathane and commercial shops in Charkop. Encouraged by Balkawade, Kondekar decided to apply for two flats under her mother and mother-in-law’s names, and also showed interest in a commercial shop. She was introduced to Shah in December 2020, and over the course of several meetings, Shah showed them a list of available MHADA units to gain their trust. The family eventually paid him ₹9 lakh in advance – ₹3 lakh each for two flats and one shop. Shah then gave them forged documents and letters claiming to have submitted their applications to the MHADA department under the CM quota. Between November 2020 and June 2024, the family ended up transferring a total of ₹27 lakh in instalments to Shah and Balkawade. However, despite repeated assurances, Shah never delivered possession or documentation of the properties. He kept stalling them with excuses, claiming the process was delayed and that new allotments and registrations would begin soon. In October 2021, Shah claimed that due to a change in government, fresh applications under the CM quota were required. Even after submitting new applications, there was no progress. When Kondekar tried to contact Shah at his residence in Ganpat Nagar, Borivali, she found that he no longer lived there. Realising the extent of the scam, she lodged a complaint with Dahisar Police against both Shah and her late uncle, Pramod Balkawade. A case was registered against the duo for cheating and using forged documents. Shah had been on the run for five months before a special team from Dahisar Police traced and arrested him two days ago. The court has remanded him to police custody for further investigation. Police said that several others may have been duped by Shah using a similar modus operandi and appealed to victims to come forward and contact Dahisar Police.

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