New Delhi, Oct 24 (IANS) A property dealer who financed retired Delhi Development Authority (DDA) employee M.L. Gautam in the civic agency’s multi-million housing scam was arrested Saturday, police said.
Sleuths of Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested Rakesh Boyet, a resident of Uttam Nagar in west Delhi.

According to police, Boyet who runs a property dealing business in Dwarka, had provided Rs.400,000 to Gautam and had also given Rs.900,000 through his partner Raju Ram, who was arrested earlier.

“He was aware of the entire scheme and had actively participated in it. He went underground soon after the news of DDA scam figured in the media. Consistent efforts were made to apprehend him but he continued to evade arrest,” a senior police officer said.

Delhi Police had declared Boyet a proclaimed offender this August.

Over 500,000 people applied for 5,238 flats under the DDA’s housing scheme 2008. But the scheme was mired in controversies amid allegations of fake applications. The scam came to light earlier this year and the Economic Offences Wing started investigations after a man who was allotted a flat in the draw of lots told the police that he had not even applied for it.

Investigations revealed that a group of people conspired to buy several flats in the names of those from reserved categories like the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes who were eligible for the flats but could not afford them. The conspirators meant to sell off these flats later for huge profits.

So far, the EOW has arrested eight people including Deepak Kumar, who allegedly blew the lid off the scam after he fell out with some fellow real estate agents, Gautam, and real estate agents Raju Ram, Laxmi Narayan Meena and Vijay Pal.

The EOW has been probing the roots of the scam in various states.