RERA officer held for taking ₹5K bribe over flat dispute in Greater Noida
Meerut anti-corruption team arrested RERA accountant Harendra Kumar Goswami for allegedly accepting a ₹5,000 bribe over a flat dispute in Greater Noida.
The anti-corruptionteam from Meerutarrested a 40-year-old accountant of the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹5,000 in connection with a flat dispute in Sector 10, Greater Noida West, police said on Sunday. A case under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at Beta 2 police station.
The suspect has been identified as Harendra Kumar Goswami, a native of Muzaffarnagar, who was posted at the RERA office in Gamma 2, Greater Noida. Following his arrest, multiple social media post about the allegations has been widely circulated.
According to the FIR, the complainant had booked a flat in his wife’s name at a high-rise society in Sector 10, Greater Noida, in May 2014 and paid around ₹27 lakh through multiple payments, including a home loan. Despite waiting for six years, he did not receive possession of the flat and filed a complaint against the builder at UP RERA in February 2020, police said.
“After seven months, RERA took cognisance of the complaint and issued an order against the builder. When the builder appealed the order, the appeal was dismissed in June 2022, and RERA issued a recovery certificate (RC) against him,” the FIR stated.
In response, Uttar Pradesh RERA Chairman Sanjay Bhoosreddy said, “Goswami was in our surveillance for the past two months. Following the arrest in the bribe case, we have terminated him from the job. He was employed at RERA, Greater Noida, on a contract basis by a third party.”
Police said that over the last three years, two to three RCs were issued, but the complainant later noticed that his principal amount had been reduced from ₹27 lakh to ₹25 lakh. He then approached the RERA office for correction.
“When the complainant met the suspect, Goswami, at the Gamma 2 RERA office to seek a correction, Goswami demanded ₹50,000 and instructed him to bring ₹5,000 in advance on April 26,” said Beta 2 station house officer (SHO) Vinod Kumar.
The SHO added, “Instead of paying the bribe, the complainant lodged a complaint with the Anti-Corruption team in Meerut. A trap was set, and on Saturday, when the complainant went to hand over the bribe money to Goswami, he was caught red-handed and arrested.”
Based on a complaint byanti-corruption inspectorKrishnavatar Singh, a case under Section 7 (offence relating to public servant being bribed) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, has been registered against Goswami. Further investigation is underway.
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