Three persons, including a property dealer, were arrested on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in the fraudulent sale of about 14 bigha land allotted to Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) by the State Government at Doiwala in the year 2014. The trio is accused of having sold this government land for Rs91.20 lakh to three family members of an ex-serviceman in the area.
The accused have been identified as property dealer Manjeet, resident of Doiwala, Prem Thapa, resident of Bullawala and Amir Ahmed, resident of Niyamwala. In the past, Manjeet had been sent to jail after being caught attempting to secure loan from a bank in Punjab state based on forged documents, said Garhwal Range IG Sanjay Kumar Gunjyal while interacting with media persons on Wednesday.
Gunjyal directed the Doiwala Police Station officer to review Manjeet’s history sheet and book him under Gangster Act. Investigation revealed that the State Government had allocated about 50 bigha land to SSB battalion set up in Dowiala in 2014. Out of this land area, about 14 bigha land was sold by the property dealers on the basis of fabricated land documents.
Manjeet had forged the government land documents showing the land ownership as that of Tehri residents Jaipal and Jaiveer. In the course of interrogation Manjeet said that he knew little about Jaiveer and Jaipal who had been introduced as such by Prem Thapa and Amir Ahmed.
The registration of 14 bigha government land was done in the name of Bhuneshwari Devi in December, 2010, Shaila Dobhal and and Shashi Bahuguna in April 2011.
The property dealers had duped the three in to paying Rs91, 20, 000 for the land.
SSB officials had not completed mutation of the same land allocated by the state government.
After SSB officials came to know about SSB land being sold by property dealers using forged documents, they completed mutation of all the land allocated for SSB by the government.
In course of investigation it was also revealed that an ex-service man’s mother was reported to have died from a heart attack on knowing that her family members had been duped out of Rs91.20 lakh by the dealers.
It is pertinent to mention here that Athurwala area resident Vikas Dobhal had registered a complaint with the SIT of Garhwal Range. SIT members investigated the complaint and found government lands had been sold by the property dealers.
Based on investigation a case under sections 420/467/468/4714/120b of IPC was registered against five persons in Dowiala Police Station. The SIT has arrested three persons including property dealer involved in forged registration of the land.
The team has also been directed to apprehend two other persons involved in the fraud, said the IG.