What began as the promise of owning affordable land near the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport has turned into an alleged multi-crore land scam, with police accusing a Navi Mumbai-based husband-wife duo of repeatedly changing company names to evade action while collecting lakhs from investors for plots that allegedly never materialised.
The CBD Belapur police have booked Ravindra Rohidas Nayak alias Rana and his wife Deepa Nayak for allegedly cheating investors of nearly Rs 96.43 lakh through a network of real estate firms operating under different names, including HomeLand Realtors, FarmNLand Realty, FNL Realty, Alibaug Properties and Aksheem Agrilands Pvt Ltd.
Office premises in Navi Mumbai
Investigators claim the duo sold plots in Uran, Vindhane, and the proposed “Third Mumbai” region near the Navi Mumbai International Airport, but several buyers later discovered that transfers were cancelled, ownership records did not match, or promised deals never went through.
EOW begins deeper probe
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW), Belapur, has now stepped in to investigate the alleged fraud pattern and financial trail.
Ravindra Nayak was produced before the CBD Belapur court on Saturday and remanded to police custody till Tuesday.
Ravindra Vanjari, an official from the EOW, said the probe initially moved slowly because many victims were reluctant to formally testify.
Ravindra(left), his wife Deepa Nayak
“Initially, investors were not coming forward to record their statements, likely due to the ‘settlement’ tactics and post-dated cheques issued by the accused,” Vanjari said.
“However, they are now coming ahead in significant numbers to testify, realising the scale of the deception.”
‘Settlement’ formula
Investigators say one recurring tactic involved issuing post-dated cheques to complainants after police complaints were filed, persuading some investors to temporarily withdraw or delay legal action. Documents accessed by mid-day include statements recorded on March 11, 2025, from Nayak and an associate, Nandkishor Vaman Alhat.
Alhat stated that he booked four gunthas in the Sarda Uran area through Homeland Realtors after seeing an advertisement in 2021. Despite paying Rs 10 lakh, the transaction allegedly never materialised.
According to his statement, Nayak later issued two post-dated cheques worth Rs 10 lakh — dated April 2025 and September 2025 — along with assurances of refunding Rs 2.5 lakh paid towards registration charges.
What triggered the police case
The alleged fraud pattern surfaced after Sunanda Khatpe, 50, filed a complaint claiming she paid R11.60 lakh for two gunthas in Vindhane, only to later discover that the transfer had allegedly been cancelled and the land registered in another person’s name. Investigators are now examining whether similar transactions took place across multiple projects marketed by the accused firms.
Loopholes in system
Chartered accountant Viren Dedhia said the case highlights loopholes in tracking repeat offenders operating through multiple entities.
“By frequently changing legal names and physical locations, they stay one step ahead of traditional police records,” Dedhia said.
“There is no unified tracking of these ‘mastermind’ directors across different company registrations, allowing them to defraud the public of crores.”
Firms linked to the accused
>> HomeLand Realtors
>> FarmNLand Realty
>> FNL Realty
>> Alibaug Properties
>> Aksheem Agrilands Pvt Ltd
Police suspect the firms were repeatedly rebranded while operating from changing office locations.
How the alleged fraud unfolded
Early 2021
An advertisement circulated for plots in the Sarda Uran area.
October 2021
Payments allegedly collected from the D’Souza and D’Costa families for plots in Vindhane under HomeLand Realtors.
January 2023
Under the name FarmNLand Realty, Rs 3 lakh was allegedly collected from Sanjay Vamarao More for a plot in the proposed “Khopta New Township”.
March 2025
Statements of Ravindra Nayak and associate Nandkishor Alhat were recorded.
May 2026
CBD Belapur police intensify probe; EOW begins deeper investigation.
Case statistics
Victim Alleged amount defrauded Plot location
Shazia Mulla Rs 65 lakh Uran
Milind Dongre Rs 11.83 lakh Uran
Sunanda Khatpe Rs 11.60 lakh Vindhane
Tushar Kadam Rs 8 lakh Uran
Total alleged fraud in the current FIR: Rs 96.43 lakh
0 Comments