Realtor held for cheating homebuyers

The economic offences wing (EOW) of Crime Branch here on Friday arrested Durga Prasanna Mishra, a real estate developer, for allegedly cheating home buyers of nearly Rs 5 crore. Mishra is the managing director of Shree Baladevjew Infrastructure Private Limited. The EOW registered a cheating case against Mishra on January 31 after receiving a number of complaints from duped victims. Mishra had opened his office in Cuttack's Jagatpur. "We found that he has collected nearly Rs 5 crore from over 200 persons between 2011 and 2012. He failed to complete his housing project, Tulasi Garden, in Manguli and cheated people. Mishra did not even refund the money to victims," said inspector general of police (EOW) R K Sharma. EOW said 43-year-old Mishra forayed into real estate business in 2011. "We came to know that he had set up a spice unit in Jagatpur in 2001. After making some money, he bought land in Manguli and started a real estate business. A bank had sanctioned Rs 7.95 crore loan in his favour," another EOW officer said.