Bengaluru's Transcity Developers cheats buyers by showing rosy picture

Around 50 people have been taken for a ride by a developer in Namma Bengaluru. With the developer failing to deliver the promised house sites even after four years, investors are running from pillar to post to get back their hard-earned money. It is not surprising that some of them found the confidence to invest after seeing the photographs of celebrities displayed at the developer’s office and paid money for the sites. The firm against which the allegations are leveled is Transcity Developers situated at Bhashyam Circle (above Shanti Sagar Hotel), Sadashivanagar. Its website claims of having completed nine projects (seven in Bengaluru and two in Mysuru) but the cheated investors claimed that a few of them never took off. “I was attracted by their publicity through the electronic media. The advertisement on television promised to make the layout (Trans Prakruthi) one of the best layouts in Bengaluru. I thought it will be a good idea to have a residential site at such layout. I paid Rs 3,15,000 to the developer on November 17, 2014,’’ said S Santosh, a resident of Raichur who works with Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited. Santosh said that he had collected information about 55 people who have paid money already to Transcity Developers and are struggling to get it back. “I visited the office of Transcity Developers more than 20 times seeking refund of my money. Despite that nothing has happened,’’ he said. Repenting for taking the developer’s publicity seriously, NagarajaPadubail, a resident of Kondappa Garden, Kogilu Main Road, Yelahanka, said that he was impressed by the photographs of sandalwood artistes such as Tara Anuradha, Ashwath and Umesh showcased at the Transcity Developers’ office. Umesh told that “Transcity Developers had given me a felicitation and that is probably why they had my picture. But I never bought a site or any other property from them.” Little did the investors know. “I thought that these artists have also paid money for buying the sites. The firm spent a lot of money on publicity. I work as an engineer at a private company. Being an educated person, I never expected to get cheated,’’ rued Padubail. He added the Transcity Developers had claimed that the layout will be developed on 100 acres of land and only a few sites were available for sale. On November 25, victims lodged a complaint against Transcity Developers at Sadashivanagar police station. The police have registered a first information report (FIR) against Transcity Developers’ directors Nandagopal V, Ravi S, ArunaNandagopal, Srinivas MT, and general manager, Bhaskar. “We do not know why police are yet to take the accused into custody even after a week. We want to help the police locate the accused but they are not interested,’’ complained Santosh. Meanwhile, Sadashivanagar police sub-inspector Shobha N assured that an investigation is on and a team has been formed to nab the accused. “We will take action against the accused as per norms,’’ N Sobha said.