Signalling the end of property cheats?

The proprietors of Orange and Granity properties gave an undertaking before the High Court that they would refund the amount they had collected from people for allotment of sites and flats in Bangalore ...   The case against Orange and Granity properties was that they had collected money from people promising them sites and flats which they didn’t allot later ... The police have registered a cheating ... both Orange and Granity have to refund of Rs 11 crore to the public ... 70 cases were registered and an FIR was filed against the accused.

For the full report in the New Indian Express, click here

If my understanding is right, all these years, the litigants generally had recourse only to Civil suits, which, with the time taken, allowed the culprits any amount of time to play around and even get away. The difference this time appears to be the pro-activeness of the Police in getting the complainants to file criminal cases, and pursuing them, resulting in the culprits being forced to come to terms without delay. Can we hope that this will signal the end of such property racketeering in the city?

I don't think there's a single Bangalorean whose attention had not been drawn by the all-pervasive ads of 'Orange properties' over the last few months. And, considering that even today, inspite of so many of the 'Nigerian' dupes getting exposed, people still fall for them, it is not surprising that high decibel 'Orange' campaign found so many suckers. While wondering about the gullibility of the public, one may perhaps apportion a part of the blame also on the multiplicity of government agencies involved in the regulation of the housing industry, and the confusion caused their none-too-clear guidelines.  

Muralidhar Rao

[PS: Moderation note: Post was trimmed. please avoid quoting full news report.]