With the increasing number of cases related to false registration of lands, change in the power of attorney of land in favour of non-family members, name change in land’s mutation and other related cases, the State police have decided to take stringent action against Government officials found involved in such cases.There has been an alarming rise in cases related to false registration of private and Government lands, encroachments of lands and other land disputes in Dehradun and other parts of the State. Considerable rise in land prices in the State capital that has spawned the land mafia evidently assisted by some Government officers including sub-registrar of land registry department, revenue officer and police offers may be the reason for increase in such cases. In some cases in Dehradun and other parts of the state, property disputes involving crores of rupees also resulted in murders.
The sub-register and revenue officers involved in fake registration of land and fake mutation of land will be also booked under 120b and other appropriate Sections of IPC in the police station concerned. In some cases it has been revealed that after registering case the police officer who investigates the case is also involved in corruption by assisting the land dealers. Such police officers will be suspended and departmental action will be taken against them, State DGP BS Sidhu said on Friday.Moreover, following the direction of Chief Minister Harish Rawat, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed at range level to deal with land disputes. SITs comprising one inspector and constables have been formed to deal with land dispute cases.
Garhwal Range IG/DIG Sanjay Kumar Gunjyal said with the price of land rising considerably, land forgery cases are increasing in the State capital. Around 100 applications related to land forgery have been reported in the State level SIT that comprises one inspector and two sub-inspectors to solve the land forgery cases. A total of 32 such applications have been accepted. The land mafia duping people would be hooked, he added.It should be mentioned here that Dehradun police had recently arrested Pauri resident Jitendra Mohan Semwal, Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) candidate from Doiwala Assembly constituency during 2012 Vidhan Sabha election for allegedly selling lands with forged documents to several persons based in Dehradun. Semwal had collected crores of rupees from persons who had approached him to buy land. SIT formed to probe the land fraud had received four written complaints and four verbal complaints from those duped by Semwal.