Bengaluru: Police bust ₹100-crore land grab attempt; 11 arrested for forging records
The Kengeri police have arrested 11 persons, including revenue officials, for allegedly forging land records in an attempt to illegally grab six acres of land
The Kengeri police have arrested 11 persons, including revenue officials, for allegedly forging land records in an attempt to illegally grab six acres of land worth nearly ₹100 crore belonging to the Adi Chunchanagiri Shikshana Trust at Kambipura village on the outskirts of Bengaluru. According to the police, the disputed property forms part of a 45-acre land parcel in Survey No. 43, Kambipura village, Kengeri hobli, Bengaluru South taluk. The accused allegedly created fake genealogy records, death certificates, grant certificates and other revenue documents to falsely establish ownership over six acres of the trust’s land.
They then attempted to mutate the property in their favour using forged records. Based on a complaint filed by the Trust’s secretary on June 10 this year, the Kengeri police registered a case charging the accused under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 329(3), 340(2) and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. During the investigation, the police unearthed the alleged conspiracy involving private individuals and government officials who were suspected of fabricating official documents and facilitating illegal mutation of the land.
The arrested accused have been identified as Francis, Arogyaswamy, Srinivas, Narendra Kumar, Joseph, Deepak (deputy tahsildar), M.P. Ravi, Kiran Kumar (Revenue Inspector), Arun Kumar (Revenue Inspector), Shivaprasad (Village Administrative Officer), and Satish Kumar (Village Administrative Officer). All the accused have been produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody. The police said the prime accused, Arogyaswamy, allegedly conspired with others to fabricate ownership documents and secure illegal mutation of the land. Three more suspects — Naresh Gowda, Srikanth, Manjunath and Raghavendra — are absconding and efforts are on to trace them.
Further investigation has also found evidence suggesting the accused may have used similar forged documents to target other properties. The police are probing whether the syndicate was involved in additional land-grabbing cases in and around Bengaluru.
The BriefWire