Bhubaneswar, Nov. 22: Police arrested a 37-year-old realtor today for allegedly duping a person of Rs 30 lakh after promising him a duplex near Uttara on the city outskirts.

The police said the accused, Shreya Infrastructure Services managing director Himanshu Sekhar Nayak, had been arrested for cheating Sangita Satpathy, a homemaker.

"The realtor had taken the money in four instalments in 2011 and 2012. Last year, when we asked him to hand over the house, he did not do it. He also did not return the money," Satapathy said.

The victim lodged a complaint with the police this month and subsequently, the accused was arrested. The builder has apparently duped several other people in a similar manner.

However, Nayak has denied the allegations. He said: "The complainant had only paid Rs 23 lakh and the remaining Rs 7 lakh is yet to be paid. The house is ready for delivery, but how can it be sold for a lesser amount?"

On November 17, the economic offences wing of the state crime branch had arrested the director of Noida-based Brys International (P) Ltd Rahul Gaur on the charge of fraud. The accused had duped a businessman of Rs 18 crore on the pretext of providing three acres of land at Pahala on the city outskirts.

Land frauds have become a major concern for the police and city residents as well. While the police have registered cases against 115 builders in 2013 and 2014, it had arrested 65 builders during this period.

The economic offences wing of the state crime branch had also registered around 30 such cases in 2014 and arrested as many as 28 people.