Cops stumble upon SRA ‘scam’ in Nehru Nagar

Investigation into the serial rape and murders of three girls in Nehru Nagar has accidentally led the Crime Branch to a slum rehabilitation scam.

A senior police officer on Friday said that the house in which the body of the third victim, an eight-year-old girl, was found was a part of the scam.

“We found that the house in which the body had been dumped had been purchased by Arshad Khatri, a resident of Yari Road, from the previous owner, Sukhram Patil,” the officer said requesting anonymity.

The officer added that Khatri has told the police that he had purchased the house as an “investment”.

“We have found many such locked houses and have learnt that they are all similar investments,” the officer said adding that the police will investigate this once they have arrested the killer.

The officer added that the police questioned Khatri because the house was bought in February but Khatri took possession of it in March.

He had also kept the house locked since.

Khatri is from a well-to-do family and owns a house on Yari Road, the police said.

“He had no reason to buy a house in Nehru Nagar but he told us he did it because the locality would soon go under the SRA and he would get a bigger house, which he could have sold for a profit,” the officer said. The house is 80-sq-ft in area and Khatri would have easily got a 220-sq-ft flat.

This is a violation of the SRA rules, which cover only slum dwellers, who have lived in a slum until a cut-off date decided by the state government.