A Delhi businessman has alleged that he was duped of Rs 17 lakh by a couple in a fake deal that involved them selling him land in Noida Sector 27 that was not registered in their name. A probe in the matter is underway.

The victim was identified as Manoj Jain, an online retailer of pets, who had come across the property in question in December 2018 through a broker.

"The deal was finalized at Rs 2.1 crore. The man assured us that the property agreement would be done by his wife but when our broker examined the documents, we found that the property was in the name of a 'cousin'. So, we asked him to first get it transferred," Jain said.

He said that the suspect agreed and asked for Rs 15 lakh in advance. "We gave him a cheque for Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh in cash. A few days later, he asked for Rs 10 lakh more and said that the registry was being done. On January 9, we paid him that money. When we asked for a receipt, they said that they were drafting a new agreement which was in his wife's name. When the documents were examined by both the bank and the authority, we were told that neither of them could sell the property as it was still in the cousin's name," Jain continued.

The victim said that he then told the suspect that he did not want to be involved in the sale and wanted his money back. "He assured me that he would pay me back and even returned Rs 8 lakh. Now, he has stopped taking our calls or meeting us and has refused to pay back the rest of the money. Meanwhile, we are also worried that the couple might sell the property to someone else without finishing our transactions, so we have requested for a stay to be put on its sale," Jain said.

Based on his complaint, a case was registered at the Sector 20 police station against the couple under sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

"We are investigating the matter and all the facts are being verified. Once enough evidence is gathered, we will take necessary action," Rajveer Singh Chauhan, station house officer, Sector 20 police station, said.