Bathinda cops book Vardhman Polytex owners for fraud

The Bathinda police have registered a case against directors and owners of Vardhman Polytex Limited for selling over 50 acres of industrial land as residential plots without obtaining necessary government approvals and paying the conversion charges.

The land measuring 265 bighas and 11 biswas is located near Dabwali Road here.

The police, however, did not name the accused in the complaint lodged on the basis of an inquiry report submitted by the Vigilance to the Bathinda Municipal Corporation, highlighting fraudulent activities involving the promoters and various property dealers.

The company, a part of the Oswal group, had earlier denied the charge, with its promoters claiming that they had already applied for the conversion of the land and were expecting an approval soon. They also denied selling plots.

However, the Municipal Corporation supported by evidence from the Vigilance and bank statements, maintained that the company was misleading the authorities and the public while attempting to evade the required land-use conversion fee and taxes.

According to the Vigilance report, the company conducted meetings with promoters, where they discussed creating plots on the land and selling them as part of a residential colony.

The report said the Municipal Corporation possessed video recordings of the meetings, where the promoters could be seen encouraging people to buy plots.

Furthermore, bank statements have confirmed that an advance payment of Rs 2 lakh per plot was collected through cheques deposited in various banks of Bathinda and Ludhiana. The Vigilance inquiry, conducted on January 16, uncovered that the company owners had “deceived” buyers and failed to comply with RERA regulations.

Based on the findings, the police registered a case against the company directors and owners under Sections 316 (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (cheating) of the BNS for misrepresentation and financial fraud.

However, the report has not yet clarified whether the directors are from the Bathinda branch of Vardhman Polytex Limited or from other branches.

It also does not confirm the current status of the company leadership as the industrial unit here has reportedly been non-operational for some time.