Mumbai magistrate court remands Orbit MD to EOW custody

MUMBAI: A Mumbai magistrate court on Thursday remanded realty developer Orbit Corporation's MD Pujit Aggarwal to the custody of Mumbai Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) till September 27, in a matter related Rs 52 crore to an alleged fraud involving EOW had arrested Aggarwal on Wednesday for investigation related to an FIR (first information report) filed in April 2016 by Capri Global Advisory Services.

The public prosecutor had sought the remand on grounds that EOW needs to investi Rs 52 crore and that Aggarwal's gate the trail of custodial interrogation is needed to verify documents and all his bank accounts. According to the FIR, Capri Global Advisory Services had in vested over Rs 52 crore in Orbit's two projects -Orbit Terraces and Orbit Haven. After these pro jects failed to take off, Aggarwals requested Capri to convert the transactions into debt and mort gaged a property claiming to be theirs which later turned out to be occupied by someone else, and a commercial premise that tur ned out to be a parking space.

This FIR also alleged that without requisite permissions, Or bit claimed to have development rights and required FSI (floor space index) to carry out their projects Orbit Terraces and Orbit Haven.

Aggarwal was arrested by Mumbai Police earlier this month under the charges of cheating and violation of Maharashtra Ownership Flat Act, 1963. A metropolitan magistrate court in Mumbai on Tuesday had sent him to judicial custody till October 3 in a matter related to another FIR filed by Capri Global Capital. The magistrate had extended Aggarwal's police custody thrice since he was arrested on September 8.

Last week, a sessions court in Mumbai had rejected anticipatory bail applications of Aggarwal and Orbit Corp's chairman Ravi Kiran Aggarwal. Both had applied for bail in matters related to two FIRs filed by Capri Global Capital and its promoter group company Capri Global Advisory Services. Another investigation by the Mumbai Police, relating to an FIR filed in Azad Maidan police station, is now trying to find the trail of the rest of the money raised through the lender as well as homebuyers.

The developer had raised monies from LIC Housing Finance and also from homebuyers for its project Orbit Residency Park in Mumbai's Andheri suburb. The builder had raised Rs 260 crore from LIC Housing Finance for the project but had used about Rs 178 crore on it. Apart from this, the builder had sold 82 apartments without informing homebuyers about LIC Housing's charge on the project.