Who is Dhruv Sharma, US-educated owner of 32nd Avenue arrested in cheating case?

Gurugram police on Friday arrested Dhruv Dutt Sharma, CEO of the firm behind the 32nd Avenue commercial real estate project in Gurgaon. Sharma’s arrest was based on a complaint of cheating filed a company over the sale of a property within the high-profile 32nd Avenue complex.Dhruv Sharma, 34, is the founder and CEO of 32nd Avenue. (Facebook/@32ndAvenue)Dhruv Sharma was arrested the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Gurugram Police on Friday and produced before a local court. He has been remanded to six days of police custody.Why was the CEO of 32nd Avenue arrested?In a first information report (FIR) filed on January 2, Traum Ventures Pvt Ltd said Sharma and associates entered into an agreement for sale for a 3,000-square-foot commercial unit in the first floor 32nd Avenue building in September 2021 for ₹2.5 crore. The company claims it paid the amount to Sharma but it never received ownership of the property.The FIR, of which HT has accessed a copy, was filed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).(Also read: Gurugram: Owner of 32nd Avenue arrested in cheating case)Over the past several days, investors and employees associated with 32nd Avenue have been staging protests, alleging non-payment of dues and claiming that Sharma had stopped responding to calls and messages.Who is Dhruv Sharma?Dhruv Sharma is the 34-year-old founder and CEO of 32nd Avenue — an upscale, mixed-use lifestyle development in Sector 15, Gurgaon, known for its European-style architecture, cobbled pathways and aesthetic cafes.Sharma is a resident of DLF Camellias in Sector 42 on Golf Course Road, one of the country’s most exclusive and expensive residential addresses.He is a 2013 graduate of Boston University in the United States. According to his LinkedIn profile, Sharma had a Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.) degree in Entrepreneurship, Computer Science, Hospitality.After graduating from Boston University, Sharma started GuestHouser in 2014 as a portal to discover and book vacation rentals.In 2018, he was named on the ‘Forbes 30 Under 30 – Asia’ l for Retail & Ecommerce.Since 2015, he has served as managing director of 32nd. He was responsible for developing and managing the company’s real estate portfolio across Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, and Goa.