Chanidgarh businessman duped of ₹81 lakh in Himachal land fraud

The accused did not deliver the promised land in Himachal or secure the required permissions for the Chanidgarh-based businessman

Five persons have been booked for allegedly defrauding a city-based businessman of ₹81 lakh by falsely presenting themselves as owners of a land parcel in Himachal Pradesh, which he needed for setting up a drug manufacturing unit.

The Chanidgarh-based complainant had paid a total of ₹70 lakh through bank transfers. (HT File)

Complainant Chander Shekhar Jolly, director of Sysmed Exim Pvt. Ltd., said the Himachal Pradesh government had come up with a proposal to open a drug park in Una district.

The accused Bhupinder Sharma, Rajan Sharma, Jatinder Sharma, Dhruv Dutt Sharma, all residents of Una, and Rakesh Kumar of Panchkula, showed him a piece of land in Mahal villlage and offered to sell it for ₹70 lakh. They provided him falsified revenue records and also a forged General Power of Attorney dated September 10, 2020.

After a series of meetings and negotiations, the complainant paid a total of ₹70 lakh through bank transfers and an additional ₹10 lakh in cash, believing the accused would secure necessary permissions from the state government and execute the sale deed.

However, despite assurances, the accused did not deliver the promised land or secure the required permissions. When Jolly investigated further, he discovered that no application had been made to the state government, and the accused had no intention of completing the sale.

A case under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at Sector 17 police station.