Indian Army Colonel, brother face fraud charges in residential project scam

New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) A Colonel of the Indian Army and his brother are facing charges of defrauding a private construction company entrusted with building residential flats in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu District.

The charges have been filed by the Delhi Police and the charge sheet was recently presented at the Karkardooma Court.

The charge sheet, accessed by IANS, alleges that the accused brothers, Colonel Vedvrat Vaidya and Bharat Vaidya, cheated the construction company through the misappropriation of public funds, thereby defrauding people who had invested their money in the project.

The court acknowledged the charge sheet on November 21 and set January 9, 2024, as the next hearing date.

The charge sheet lists multiple offences under the Indian Penal Code, including Cheating (Section 420), Criminal conspiracy (Section 120 B), Punishment for criminal breach of trust (Section 406), Punishment for house-trespass (Section 448), Theft in dwelling house (Section 380), Criminal intimidation (Section 506), and Common intention (Section 34).

The origins of the case trace back to 2008 when Vikas Madaan, the Managing Director of Pacific Construction and Management, entered into an agreement with Bharat Vaidya for the construction of 196 flats on land owned by Bharat in Kullu.

However, Madaan claims that despite the land belonging to Bharat, all dealings were conducted by his elder brother, Colonel Vedvrat Vaidya.

A year later, Bharat Vaidya entered into an irrevocable collaboration agreement and executed a General Power of Attorney in favour of Pacific Construction and Management. In 2013, four years later, the accused cancelled the power of attorney instead of seeking an extension.

In response, Vikas Madaan approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court, which issued a stay order. Subsequently, Madaan filed an FIR against the Vaidya brothers at Laxmi Nagar police station in Delhi, prompting a police investigation.

Despite initial attempts at compromise, the project remained stalled, leading to a prolonged legal battle.

The Vaidya brothers later sought the quashing of the FIR through the Delhi High Court, which directed the Delhi Police to expedite the charge sheet.