Lucknow, Feb 23 (IANS): Former Samajwadi Party MLA, Indal Rawat, has been booked for allegedly duping a real estate company of Rs 2.52 crore, said officials.

The allegation stems from a purported agreement between Rawat and the company for the construction of a building on land that allegedly did not belong to him, said the officials on Thursday.

The case came to fore following a court directive instructing the Gomti Nagar police to probe the matter, after a complaint was filed by the managing director of the company, Rajesh Pandey.

Deepak Pandey, SHO Gomti Nagar, said that an FIR has been registered against Rawat under sections 420 (cheating), 419 (cheating by personation), 406 (criminal breach) and others under IPC. Pandey said that Rawat, who served as a Samajwadi Party MLA from the Malihabad constituency between 2012 and 2017, had joined the Congress in 2022.

As per the FIR, he initiated discussions with the company, Raj Infra Housing Pvt Ltd, proposing development of a residential building on land in Batha Sabauli village in 2014, even though the land did not belong to him.

Although a contract was drafted between Rawat and the company, it was rendered null and void due to insufficient revenue stamps. The contract was re-executed on payment of stamp fees of Rs 42.08 lakh. The company disbursed Rs 49 lakh to Rawat in advance for land development, along with Rs 55 lakh more in cash and Rs 1.48 lakh through RTGS. However, it later emerged that the land in question had been acquired by a housing society, rendering Rawat's claims of ownership invalid.