VIVEK SHARMA
JAMMU: Owners of Shakuntla Theatre situated at B C Road Jammu have been booked by Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of Crime Branch (CB) Jammu for their alleged involvement in around Rs 10 Cr J&K Bank loan fraud and cheating with few Jammu based business establishments.
The accused Rahul Mahajan, his father Romesh Chander Mahajan and mother Renu Mahajan, owners of Shakuntla Theatre, Directors of Mordern Hotels Pvt. Ltd, B C Road, resident of 72 A/D, Gandhi Nagar, Jammu, have been booked under FIR 33/2024 registered under sections of 420, 120-B RPC.
According to FIR, initially, a complaint was lodged by Tapan Dubey, Director Shree Sita Ram Industries Pvt. Ltd, resident of Bari Brahmana, Samba against Rahul Mahajan, his father Romesh Mahajan and mother Renu Mahajan, all residents of 72 A/D Gandhi Nagar, Jammu stating that his company had bought Plot No.1 & 2 measuring 4015 sqft and 1840 sqft at Rehari, B.C. Road Jammu from J&K Bank Ltd from Renu Mahajan, Romesh Mahajan Directors of Mordern Hotels Pvt. Ltd and Rahul Mahajan vide tri-party agreement dated March 28, 2019. On insistence of Bank and Renu Mahajan, the complainant Tapan Dubey also entered into an “Agreement to Sell” with Renu Mahajan, Romesh Mahajan and Rahul Mahajan, Directors of Modern Hotels Pvt. Ltd on March 27, 2019. This property was already mortgaged and was in the possession of the bank and he came to know about the property from Bank Notice published in a Jammu based newspaper on March 7, 2019.
Since, Tapan Dubey also had banking relations with J&K Bank, the senior managers of J&K Bank including J P Sharma, the then President Law, J&K Bank, assured him that the property is clean, with its lien and possession including original papers are in possession of bank and it is going to be auctioned before March 31, 2019 under the Sarfeasi Act.
A deal was struck with all the parties concerned to buy the property from the bank and the owners. However, after the payments was done to the bank, the complainant Tapan Dubey got to know that the bank did not hold original papers of the said property. It also came to light that the accused Renu, Romesh and Rahul Mahajan had already entered into another agreement to sell with one Tajinder Singh Monocha to sell the same property.
It was understood that Bank along with suspect persons entered into a conspiracy to safeguard them from bank as their other properties were also attached by them by defrauding the complainant and selling to him a property which J&K Bank did not have the authority to sell and the suspects had already entered into agreements to sell with other parties before entering into deal with him.
After receipt of complaint an enquiry was conducted, it came to fore that Rahul Mahajan his Romesh Chander Mahajan, and mother Renu Mahajan directors of M/s Modern Hotel Pvt. Ltd. have created an equitable Mortgage with J&K bank without depositing any document of property that is Plot No.1 & 2 of JDA at BC road Rehari Jammu. However, J&K Bank Branch Town Hall Jammu sanctioned the loan around Rs 10 Crore and disbursed the same in favour of directors of M/s Modern Hotel Pvt. Ltd. But the said loan account turned NPA. Thereafter, J&K Bank issued possession notice warning the mortgagers, borrowers, guarantors and the public in general not to deal with the mortgaged property. Despite of this these accused persons hatched a criminal conspiracy and executed an agreement to sell with the complainant Director Sh. Sita Ram Industries Pvt. Ltd. Bari Brahmana, Samba dishonestly/deliberately and got transferred Rs. 1.75 Crore from the account of M/s Shree Sita Ram
Industries Pvt. Ltd. Bari Brahmana, Samba into the account of M/s Modern Hotel Pvt. Ltd at Jammu. But the accused persons neither handed over possession nor the documents of the said property to the complainant Tapann Dubey. Earlier also the accused persons have dishonestly and fraudulently executed an agreement to sell with Tajinder Singh Manocha and duped his hard earned money to the tune of Rs. 60.00 Lakhs (Sixty Lakhs) from him against the same Plots/Property. The above named accused persons by adopting this modus operandi have cheated the complainant & others in connivance with each other and caused wrongful loss to them and corresponding wrongful gain to themselves. The commissions on the part of accused persons namely Rahul Mahajan, his father Romesh Chander Mahajan and mother Renu Mahajan prima facie constitute offences punishable under section 420 and 120-B RPC as such a formal case has been registered with EOW Crime Branch, Jammu against these accused persons. For in-depth probe, the investigation has been entrusted to DySP Sureenjeet Singh, Investigation Officer Crime Branch.
