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10 FIRs registered over 978 ‘undervalued property deals’ across Ludhiana
Action follows a petition filed by a city-based trader in Punjab and Haryana high court; administration flags 5,600 suspicious transactions after scanning 2.36 lakh documents
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Police have registered 10 FIRs in connection with 978 property transactions across Ludhiana, Khanna and Ludhiana Rural on Tuesday and Wednesday over suspected undervaluation of properties registered between 2013 and 2016. More FIRs are expected to be registered in connection with the case, police said.
The latest action follows a petition filed by Ludhiana-based trader and whistleblower Subhash Kundra in the Punjab and Haryana high court, alleging that properties were registered at values substantially lower than their actual market prices, resulting in losses to the state exchequer.
The extent of the suspected irregularities emerged during a scrutiny of property registration records by the district administration. In an affidavit submitted before the high court, the administration disclosed that it had scanned more than 2.36 lakh documents relating to property transactions registered between 2013 and 2016. The exercise identified around 5,600 transactions in which properties were suspected to have been undervalued. The administration also informed the court that FIRs were being registered in these cases.
The 10 FIRs have been registered at Moti Nagar, PAU, Sadar and Sahnewal police stations under the Ludhiana Police Commissionerate; Machhiwara, Samrala and Payal police stations in Khanna; and Sidhwan Bet and City Raikot police stations under Ludhiana Rural police jurisdiction under Sections 420, 177 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), along with Section 82 of the Registration Act. The cases pertain to alleged discrepancies in the values declared for properties at the time of registration.
The latest action follows earlier police cases in the matter.
On August 19, acting on the high court’s directions, Moti Nagar police had registered an FIR against 256 persons, including officials of the Punjab Housing Board, in connection with 134 allegedly undervalued property transactions in Ludhiana East subdivision between 2013 and 2016. Earlier, on February 18, the same police station had registered an FIR against 329 persons in connection with 159 such transactions.
Kundra, a resident of Sector 32-A on Chandigarh Road, has been pursuing the matter since 2016. He had submitted several representations to the police, vigilance bureau and district administration, alleging that the undervaluation of properties had caused substantial losses to the state exchequer. He has also claimed that he faced threats and was assaulted for raising the issue.
Kundra also alleged that revenue department officials were involved in the transactions and questioned the lack of concrete action by the district administration and the department despite the matter remaining before the court for nearly a decade.
The trader further claimed that more names could emerge during the investigation and that additional accused could be included in the FIRs as the probe progresses.
