The cyber crime unit of Mumbai Police has busted the fake website of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority portal (MHAD). The accused created a website by copying the original website and started cheating people on the pretext of providing flats under the government housing scheme. According to the agency, an officer said that two accused have been arrested in this case.
Kalpesh Sevak, one of the accused, created the website and his associate Amol Patel allegedly pretended to be an MHADA officer and duped the victims into paying Rs 30 lakh for flats that did not exist on land. He said that Sevak was arrested from Mahim area of Mumbai and Patel from Nalasopara in Palghar district.
Online link for payment
The fake website mhada.org was designed to mislead users into making payments through online links. This is the official website of MHADA. MHADA is a statutory housing authority and a nodal agency of the Government of Maharashtra, which provides affordable housing in the state.
Recently, MHADA informed the police about the scam, following which arrests were made and an FIR was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.
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The accused used to contact candidates looking for flats under the MHADA Housing Scheme after obtaining information through fake websites. “They used to tell the applicants that a flat was available for sale in Goregaon area for Rs 30 lakh and asked them to make the payment through an online link given on the dummy website,” the officer said.