Two sub-registrars likely to be suspended as dead man signs not one but two land deals in Belagavi district
Belagavi’s Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan has issued an order staying the registration of a land deal in the district following allegations of irregularities. The DC
Belagavi’s Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Roshan has issued an order staying the registration of a land deal in the district following allegations of irregularities. The DC has recommended the suspension of two sub-registrars who were responsible for the registration of the land deal. The DC has warned all officials of strict action if they fail to cross-verify documents. A family from Belagavi had complained that fraudsters had fudged records to claim that a long dead person from their family had registered the deal. Members of the Belagavi District Brahmin Samaj Trust had also complained about this issue Digambar Shripad Kulkarni passed away on April 9, 1987.
However, documents in the sub-registrar’s offices in the district show that a sale deed bearing his name was registered twice recently — once in 2024 and in 2026 — in connection with deals valued at several crores of rupees. As per official records, Digambar Kulkarni walked into the Khanapur Sub-Registrar’s office on September 3, 2024, and signed documents to execute a sale deed for 8 acres and 37 guntas of land in Ankalagi village. Two years later, on April 24, 2026, he went to the Belagavi South Sub-Registrar’s office to register another sale deed — for 9 acres and 33 guntas of land in the same village.
His descendants have complained that officials, real estate agents and others conspired to create records in his name and register documents fraudulently. They said that a cursory look at the two sale deeds show that there are a lot of differences in the records. The Aadhaar numbers, signatures, and residential addresses are different in the two sets of papers. The family said that officials had bypassed, or gamed, the systems and processes that verify if a person is alive or dead, and whether the Aadhaar and other documents are genuine.
They have also argued that there is no system of monitoring registrations at the taluk or district levels in Karnataka. Rajesh Kulkarni, grandson of Digambar Kulkarni, has demanded a detailed investigation into the issue. He said that a second registration was done despite him complaining against the first one. He said he would explore legal options.
The BriefWire