127 Karnataka homebuyers lodge FIR against real estate developer Ozone Group, level criminal charges

Representative image.

At least 127 homebuyers in Bengaluru have filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the promoters and directors of Ozone Group, levelling charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating against the real-estate developer.

Buyers of units in the Ozone Urbana Township project in Kannamangala, eastern Bengaluru, filed the FIR on July 17 at Halasur police station.

The FIR comes after the City Civil and Sessions Court, Bengaluru, on May 26 directed the Ulsoor police officials to register the complaint and investigate the allegations made by the homebuyers.

The FIR also states that the owners gave the builder Rs. 80 crores to book the apartments.

The homebuyers claimed that the builder had cheated them by marketing the apartments through various Ponzi schemes, including Buy Back, Sub Vention, and 2X. Although the apartment bookings started between 2015 and 2017, the construction was not completed by the committed timeline, they alleged.

Following this, the homebuyers filed multiple complaints at the Karnataka Real Estate Regulatory Authority and alleged that the promoter has not deposited 70 percent of the money they paid the company into an escrow account.

Under RERA all real estate builders/ developers are mandated to transfer 70 percent of the money received from homebuyers into an escrow account maintained with a scheduled commercial bank. This provision is aimed at preventing developers from diverting funds for other projects.

Although it received 95 percent of the money owed by the homebuyers, the developer had failed to deliver the home in line with the commitment it made.

Rohit Sharma, an information technology professional employee and one of the primary complainants, said he had booked an apartment in the project in 2016. Although the delivery date was due in 2018, to date the apartments are still under construction.

"We had approached the Devanahalli Police Station and also, Ulsoor Police Station. However, the police had initially refused to file the FIR. Early in 2022, we had decided to hire a lawyer and take the matter to court," he said.

After the first hearing in March, Sharma said, the civil court directed the Ulsoor police officials to investigate the matter. And on July 18, the police s approached the court with a copy of the FIR, he said, adding that the police needs to approach the court with a report on the investigation on October 10.

Officers at Halasur police station declined to comment on the matter.

The FIR also mentions Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd, Bank of Baroda and Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited as associates of the project promoter.

Ozone Group, in a press statement, said: “A speculative group of individuals with purely malafide intentions to extort money have filed an FIR against Ozone Group at Ulsoor Gate Police Station, Bengaluru. They have approached multiple forums with similar intentions in the past and most of the forums have dismissed their petitions, questioning the credibility of the petitions. Similar allegations were filed in Kodigehalli Police Station and stayed by the Hon. Karnataka High Court on 24th February 2022. Similar allegations were filed with NCLT and the petition was dismissed on 24th June 2022. Ozone Group has also filed an affidavit with RERA committing delivery of the apartments in a phased manner. The matter is sub judice and therefore would amount to contempt of court if commented upon or reported in the media [sic.].”

"Due to RERA failure, we are seeing more and more builders cheating homebuyers and the government needs to take action swiftly..,” said Dhananjaya Padmanabhachar, a functionary of the Karnataka Home Buyers Forum.This is a developing story and the copy will be updated soon.