A four-bedroom flat in Pune’s Model Colony was advertised online for sale without its owner’s consent, prompting a retired senior citizen to approach the cybercrime cell and Chaturshringi police for an investigation.
The 2,758-square-foot apartment, located on the 12th floor of Dharmesh Apartment near Dhotre Chowk, was listed at Rs 5 crore. The owner told police that he had neither decided to sell the property nor authorised any broker or agency to market it.
According to the complaint, the online advertisement appeared in the name of real estate agency Ashmit Realty. The retired resident submitted a copy of the listing to the police and expressed concern that someone might be attempting to initiate a property transaction involving his flat without his knowledge.
The incident places a routine property advertisement within a more serious ownership and verification concern. An online listing can expose details such as a home’s location, size and expected price, while also creating confusion for prospective buyers and property intermediaries about who has legal authority to offer the asset for sale.
Following the complaint, the agent who posted the advertisement removed it from the property platform. Police are now trying to establish who contacted the agent and instructed the agency to publish the listing. Investigators are also examining the motive behind the unauthorised advertisement.
The case highlights the importance of verifying the identity and authority of a person offering a property for sale, particularly when the transaction involves an owner who has not publicly expressed an intention to sell. The available report does not establish whether any buyer paid money or whether documents were submitted in connection with the listing.
Police have appealed to senior citizens facing harassment to approach their local police station or lodge a complaint directly at the police commissioner’s office. They have also urged elderly residents to report any attempt to conduct property transactions without their consent, as well as other forms of harassment linked to their assets.
The investigation will focus on identifying the person who allegedly approached the real estate agency and determining how the property details were used in the online advertisement.
