"He charged innocent investors Rs 50,000 to Rs 7 lakh on the pretext of providing them homes. He never had the land nor any infrastructure to back his claims," said Alok Kumar Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police (crime).

Aggarwal's associate Narender Chaddha has also been arrested. However two others - Alok Gupta and M.A. Khan are on the run.

The four accused operated a swank off1ce in the name of Laxmi Vatika at Narain Manzil on Barakhamba Road.

They offered investors flats in Mohali, Mumbai, Dehradun and Patna. They not only placed advertisements in English dailies but also got a Bollywood actress to endorse their 'housing projects'.

"He had published several glossy brochures. Investors were awe-struck by his swank office and invested money in his pre-launch schemes without doing a background check," said JCP Verma.

Aggarwal's brochures in fact promised facilities like swimming pools, hospitals, schools, clubs and shops to wide-eyed investors when he had neither the land nor the licence to undertake construction.

Aggarwal, who was arrested at a restaurant in Oshiwara, Mumbai, on Monday, had approached the Delhi High Court last year and promised to pay back his investors.

He had even issued cheques, but they bounced. Subsequently, his 25 accounts were frozen.

The High Court declared him a proclaimed offender in August and announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for information leading to his arrest.

This is not Aggarwal's first such offence as he was also involved in the Rs 176 crore JVG scam five years ago.

The Crime Branch had consequently arrested him in 2004.

He played on greed, gullibility