Woman wanted in Manesar land scam held from Mumbai

Gurugram, January 29

A woman fugitive wanted in more than 23 criminal cases of cheating in Delhi and Haryana, including the Gurugram-Manesar industrial model township land grab scam, has been arrested from Mumbai by a team of Delhi’s Crime Branch.

Ravindra Singh Yadav, Special Commissioner of Police (Crime), said the accused was identified as Sona Bansal.

A team of the ARSC, Crime Branch, worked on detecting the most-wanted fugitive couple. Inspector Arun Sindhu got a tip-off about the accused, who were hiding in Mumbai. The information was carried forward and the team was sent to Mumbai, he said.

Husband still on the run

• Accused Sona Bansal and her husband Atul Bansal (on the run) were wanted in several white-collar economic crimes
• These included Gurugram-Manesar Industrial Model Township Land Grab Scam, amounting to Rs 1,500 crore
• Both were directors of builder firm named after their son Aditya Build Well (ABW) Infrastructure Limited

“A raid was conducted at a high-end society in Mumbai and Sona Bansal was arrested from there. Her husband Atul Bansal was not found there and his whereabouts are being ascertained. Though both are natives of Delhi, they had been residing there with the assumed identities of Sulochana and Arun Gupta. They had prepared fake and forged documents,” said the police.

During interrogation, she claimed that her husband had died a few years ago, but she had failed, as of now, to prove her claims.

The accused Atul Bansal and his wife Sona Bansal were wanted in several high-profile white-collar economic crimes, including the Gurugram-Manesar Industrial Model Township Land Grab Scam, amounting to Rs 1,500 crore. Both were directors of the builder firm named after their son Aditya Build Well (ABW) Infrastructure Limited.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had initiated money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered at the Manesar police station, Gurugram, and thereafter investigation was taken up by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, CBI, against them.

Several persons, including Atul Bansal and his wife Sona Bansal, of ABW Infrastructure Limited, were chargesheeted by the ED, which found in its probe that the accused grabbed land of farmers and land-holders at nominal rates by instilling in them the fear of acquisition of their land.

Believing the accused and under the fear of losing their land to acquisition, the farmers and land holders sold their lands to such private entities, who ultimately sold the same to various builders, who obtained licences and gained handsome profits in a fraudulent manner.

Most of the land parcels were purchased by ABW Infrastructure Ltd group.