A CLUTCH of investors has filed a police complaint against DLF bosses, including billionaire promoter KP Singh and vice-chairman Rajiv Singh, alleging that the country’s biggest builder reneged a commitment to refund nearly Rs 300 crore for a delayed project in Delhi.

“They have diverted the money to other projects,” said a spokesman of the DLF Okhla Allotees Association, representing companies such as Escorts and Haldirams as well as several high net worth individuals.

The association, whose members booked office space in the Rs 750-crore project at Okhla, lodged the first information report (FIR) at Delhi’s Connaught Place police station in the last week of March. The investors had also complained to the Economic Offence Wing and the Consumers Forum this February.

A DLF spokesman said, “The project in Okhla is perfectly legal and has all the sanctions; it is permitted under the master plan of Delhi and will be completed on schedule. It will give a clear title and commercial space to buyers.”

A realty watcher close to DLF dismissed the allegations as baseless. “This is a trick being played by the investors to withdraw from the project,” he said, adding that they want to pull out money after the fall in property prices.

Nearly 200 investors booked office space in DLF Towers during launch in March 2008. The agreement between DLF and the investors, a copy of which is with ET, says the developer was to convert the land classification from industrial to commercial use within a year.

DLF was to refund the buyers at an annual interest of 9% if it failed to get permission to convert the terms of land use on schedule, said the association spokesman.

Investors demanded a refund last March when DLF failed to get the conversion done. The association spokesman said the company agreed to return the money in May but is yet to do so.

The person close to DLF declined comment on the terms of the contract, but said the builder has adequate time to transfer the property to a commercial unit as the project is due to be completed in 2011.

“The company only has to pay conversion charges to the government, ” he said, adding that the fees can be paid anytime before the project is ready for use.