Latest news with #ArmyWelfareHousingOrganisation
Time of India
27-07-2025
- Time of India
Maradu police launch probe into faulty construction of Chander Kunj Army Towers
Kochi: Maradu police have registered one more FIR and begun an investigation into the alleged faulty construction of Chander Kunj Army Towers at Silver Sand Island, Vyttila. The FIR was registered under Sections 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. The FIR was registered on July 21, based on a court directive after Colonel (retd) Ciby George, a resident of the Army towers, filed a private complaint before Ernakulam judicial first-class magistrate court-VIII. The FIR states that the crime was committed with the intention of making excessive profits by cheating the complainant and others. The three towers of the apartment complex were constructed under the ownership of Army Welfare Housing Organisation, without obtaining necessary sanctions from govt departments and by using low-quality materials. The complainant purchased one of the flats in the building on May 31, 2018, but the flat started developing damages and became uninhabitable. The accused committed the crime by overseeing the construction at various stages and at other times. The FIR was registered after the petition filed before the court was forwarded to the station, the FIR states. Maradu station house officer (SHO) filed a report before the court on July 15 stating that the case was of a serious nature and there was a need for a special unit of police to investigate it. The case diary was submitted to higher-ups so that the probe could be transferred to crime branch. Further procedures were in process regarding the same, the report stated. Maradu police are also investigating three other cases registered in connection with the issue. Earlier, the high court on June 16 declined to order a CBI investigation into the alleged corruption behind the dilapidated condition of towers B and C on a petition filed by George.
Time of India
25-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Chander Kunj Army Towers demolition: Kerala high court enhances rent payable to occupants by Rs 9,000 & Rs 12,000
Kochi: High court on Wednesday ordered strict adherence to the timeline set by the Ernakulam district collector for the evacuation, demolition and reconstruction of the dilapidated Towers B and C of the Chander Kunj Army Towers at Silver Sand Island, Vyttila. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Justice C P Mohammed Nias issued the order while disposing of a batch of review petitions filed by residents seeking clarity on an earlier single bench order directing the demolition and reconstruction of the towers, originally constructed in July 2018. Previously, the collector had submitted an affidavit outlining the proposed demolition and reconstruction plan. It said the project is expected to be completed by Oct 31, 2029, at an estimated cost of Rs 211.49 crore. The plan envisages the evacuation of residents within the next two months, with a tentative demolition date fixed for Nov 9, 2025. HC enhanced the rent payable by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) to Rs 30,000 and Rs 35,000 per month for each dwelling unit in Towers B and C, respectively, up from Rs 21,000 and Rs 23,000, taking into account findings from local inspections which revealed that rents for similar accommodations were higher. The enhancement was also based on the designation and standard of living of the allottees. The court further clarified that AWHO must pay the stipulated rent to owners residing in Towers B and C as of March 29, 2024. However, this condition should not be construed to exclude those who were temporarily not in occupation on that date. It only excludes those who had not commenced residence or had rented out their flats. The apprehensions raised by review petitioners regarding the cost of demolition and reconstruction were rejected. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now HC reaffirmed that AWHO is liable for the entire cost. Noting that 82 out of 264 allottees have opted for the buy-back scheme, HC directed the committee constituted by district collector to reassess the scale of construction based on the number of allottees opting for reconstruction and to determine the amount to be offered under the buy-back scheme. This exercise is to be completed by the time demolition concludes or within six months. Further, HC clarified that the committee shall not be bound by the earlier direction to construct towers of the same size and facilities. The AWHO is permitted to add additional floors.
NDTV
01-06-2025
- NDTV
Fraudster Posing As Army Colonel Arrested From Old-Age Home In Punjab
New Delhi: A 77-year-old man who had been absconding for over a decade after jumping bail in a cheating case involving the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) was arrested from an old-age home in Punjab's Patiala, the Delhi Police said on Sunday. The accused, Sitaram Gupta, a native of Mansa in Punjab was impersonating as a Colonel in the Indian Army and duped people by offering flats and shops under fictitious AWHO schemes, police in a statement said. "Gupta, a postgraduate in Economics and History from Panjab University and a former student of ex-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had been evading trial in a 2007 cheating case registered at Vivek Vihar police station in Delhi," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Apoorva Gupta in the statement said. He allegedly took Rs 56,000 from a complainant after offering him a flat and shop under the AWHO scheme and issued forged receipts, the officer said. After his arrest in 2007 and subsequent release on bail, Gupta went underground and failed to appear before court, leading to the issuance of non-bailable warrants. On April 26 this year, the Karkardooma Court declared him a proclaimed offender. He had started his career as a contractor supplying oil to Army cantonments across India, the statement said. During this period, he gained insider knowledge of the Army's functioning, which he later used to impersonate as a senior Army officer and lure unsuspecting people with promises of employment and housing benefits. "He moved to Delhi in 1987 and began posing as a Colonel. He conned several people on the pretext of recruitment in the Army and real estate opportunities through AWHO," the DCP said. A special team was formed which was tasked with tracking Gupta. Based on a tip-off, the team conducted surveillance and zeroed in on the old-age home in Patiala where he was living under a false identity. "He had changed his appearance and cut off ties with his family to stay under the radar. After confirming his identity, he was apprehended from the shelter," the officer added. During interrogation, Gupta admitted to his involvement in multiple cases of cheating, including three other fraud cases registered with the Shakarpur police station and the Crime Branch in Delhi, related to fake Army job offers. Police said Gupta's wife has passed away and he has two children. He had been leading a secluded life to evade arrest, shifting locations and using different mobile numbers
The Hindu
28-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
November 9 tentatively set for demolition of Chander Kunj Twin Army Towers in Kochi
The district committee has set November 9, 2025 as the tentative date for the demolition of the twin towers of Chander Kunj Army Towers at Vytilla in Kochi, Kerala, and October 31, 2029 for handing over the newly built apartments. This was part of the elaborate four-phase plan the committee has drawn up for the proposed demolition and reconstruction of the twin towers starting with the evacuation of affected families by July 31. The district committee, with the District Collector as convener and representatives of the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), residents association, experts and officials associated with the demolition and reconstruction, was formed in compliance with the Kerala High Court order dated February 3, 2025. Two months for the evacuation of the affected families marks the first phase of the process. The affected families will be given three weeks' notice ahead of evacuation. The committee has asked AWHO to release three months' rent based on the category of the apartment unit they have been holding as decided by the court. Besides, each family should be given ₹30,000 each towards shifting charges. AWHO has been asked to make the first payment to the apartment owners by June 17, 2025. The demolition of the towers will mark phase two. It would start with the invitation of tender for demolition on July 1, 2025, followed by its finalisation on August 7, 2025. Two months between August 16, 2025 and October 16, 2025, would be devoted to the preparation of the engineering design for the demolition. Demolition by implosion Preparation of structures for demolition by implosion would take two months from September 1 to November 1. November 9 has been set as the tentative date for demolition. Cleaning of the demolition site by removing the debris is likely to be completed in two months by January 9, 2026. Finalisation of the project management consultant (PMC) would mark the third phase. The tender for PMC would be invited on July 8 and finalised on August 2. This will be followed by the invitation and finalisation of tender for civil contractor in EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) Contract by December 7, 2025. The design would be finalised between January 9, 2026, and February 28, 2026, and approved by March 31, 2026. The six-month-long piling and foundation works between April 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026, would mark the beginning of the fourth phase. Reconstruction works would be finished in two-and-a-half years by July 31, 2029. Yard levelling, numbering of the apartments and their eventual handover would be completed in the next two months.
Time of India
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pakistan hackers target armed forces' sites
NEW DELHI: There has been an increase in cyberattacks emanating from Pakistan, as ceasefire violations by small arms fire continue along the Line of Control (LoC) for the last six days following the Pahalgam terror attack. Pakistan-based cyber actors have tried to deface pages and harvest personal information from a few welfare and educational websites of the armed forces, which are publicly accessible, but prompt restorative action was taken to isolate and thwart the attempts. This came after Pakistan-based hackers, operating under the moniker " IOK Hacker - Internet of Khilafah", sought to deface pages, disrupt on-line services and harvest personal information from websites and portals run by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation, IAF Placement Organisation, Army Public Schools at Srinagar and Ranikhet. "India's cyber-security architecture detected the intrusions in real time and quickly traced their origin to Pakistan. All the websites under attack were promptly isolated and restorative action was undertaken. No operational or classified networks were affected," he said.
