Bengaluru Police Register Case Against Tout, Others in BDA Site Scam

The Seshadripuram police have registered a case against a 44-year-old tout, H. Nagaraj, and others in connection with a multi-crore Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) site scam. The accused allegedly posed as a BDA employee and fraudulently obtained BDA sites meant exclusively for Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ employees of the authority.

According to the complaint lodged by Hanumantharaya B., Deputy Superintendent of Police, BDA Vigilance Wing, large-scale irregularities were detected during an internal vigilance inquiry into allotments made under employee quota categories in various BDA layouts.

The investigation reportedly revealed that several sites reserved for eligible BDA employees were illegally allotted to ineligible private individuals by falsely representing them as Group ‘C’ or Group ‘D’ staff members. The vigilance officials alleged that fake records and manipulated documents were used to facilitate the illegal allotments.

The police have registered an FIR against H. Nagaraj and others under Sections 34, 120B, 465, 419, 409, 420, and 468 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy, cheating, impersonation, forgery, criminal breach of trust, and related offences. The police said further investigation is under way to identify other beneficiaries, officials, and middlemen involved in the scam.

BDA Chairman N.A. Haris warned brokers to be beware, stating that the days of land mafia operations inside the BDA are over. The prime accused, Nagaraj, has been arrested, and an FIR has also been filed against one Lakshminarayan for allegedly attempting to encroach upon nearly ₹160 crore worth of prime BDA land in Kothanur. The case will likely proceed with further investigations and potential arrests of other individuals involved in the scam.