A 63-year-old former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) employee has been arrested on charges of defrauding professors from JNU and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi of more than Rs 11 crore. The accused allegedly set up the scam by promising an affordable housing project under the pretext of the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) purported land-pooling policy, police said on Wednesday.
The accused has been identified as PD Gaikwad, and he is a resident of Gurugram in Haryana.
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According to a senior police officer, Gaikwad conducted presentations to entice professors into becoming members of NSSWO, promoting a housing project allegedly under DDA’s land-pooling policy in the proposed L-Zone. The complainants, influenced by his representations, joined the NSSWO, booking units in the proposed project and making payments for membership fees and flats.
On November 1, 2015, Gaikwad took the complainants to an alleged piece of land in the L-Zone, Najafgarh, without producing any supporting documents for the land purchase. Subsequently, suspicion arose over the years, leading the victims to realise they were being deceived.
In 2019, Gaikwad reportedly informed the complainants of launching a new society, Siddhartha Officers Housing and Social Welfare Society, through the Delhi government. He suggested that NSSWO members could transition their membership to the new society by visiting his office at JNU, the police said.
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The complainants, seeking return since 2019, claim Gaikwad collected over Rs 11 crore from them, which, according to a police investigation, has been misappropriated through cash withdrawals and transfers to other accounts.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (EOW) Surendra Choudhary provided the materials, brochures, and receipts provided by the complainants during the investigation, which contained depictions of a housing project and the alleged DDA land-pooling policy. However, the DDA clarified that no licence or approval had been granted for any such project.
RERA (Delhi) confirmed that the accused society had not registered itself nor applied for registration. Gaikwad, allegedly the president of the society, received funds exceeding Rs 11 crore in the society’s account, but these funds were either withdrawn in cash or transferred to other accounts.
Gaikwad was arrested on December 14 in Delhi. Choudhary highlighted that Gaikwad, being a permanent and senior official at JNU, exploited his position to gain the trust of the professors, who, believing his words, became members of the society, contributing funds for the land acquisition.
(With inputs from PTI)
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