Ludhiana: 2 excise officials among 5 booked for misuing man’s property papers

Panchkula man alleges his and his father’s property papers used to secure nine liquor vends without consent

Moti Nagar police have booked five persons, including two Ludhiana-based excise officials and three Delhi businessmen, on charges of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy after a Panchkula man alleged that his property documents were used as surety for nine liquor shops without his consent.

The alleged that the fraud was linked to a proposed ₹10-crore partnership in the liquor business. (HT File)

The accused are Amit Dhalla and Sachin Dhalla, both residents of Rajouri Garden, Sahil Garg of Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi; excise and taxation officer Rishipal Singh and excise inspector Jagbir Singh.

The FIR was registered on a complaint by Narinder Kumar of Panchkula, Sector 21, under Sections 318(4) (deals with cheating and dishonestly inducing the delivery of property), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 336 (forgery), 338 (forgery of valuable securities, wills), 336 (3) (forgery committed with the intent that the forged document or electronic record will be used for cheating), 340 (fraudulently or dishonestly using a forged document or electronic record as genuine) and 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to the complaint, the alleged misuse came to light after Narinder received a notice dated February 16 from the Chandigarh excise and taxation department, directing him to pay ₹2.66 crore after he was shown as a surety for a liquor-vend licence associated with Sachin Dhalla.

Narinder alleged that he subsequently checked the department’s records and found that documents belonging to him and his father, Dharampal, had been used to furnish solvency and surety for nine liquor shops without their knowledge and consent. He further alleged that stamp papers had been purchased and notarised in their names even though neither he nor his father had purchased or executed the documents.

The alleged that the fraud was linked to a proposed ₹10-crore partnership in the liquor business.

According to the complaint, Narinder was approached by an acquaintance Divya alias Vicky Khanna, who told him that Amit Dhalla, Sachin Dhalla and Sahil Garg were involved in liquor vending in Chandigarh and controlled a substantial share of the market. Narinder was allegedly offered a 10% partnership for ₹10 crore and was asked to demonstrate a net worth of ₹20 crore and furnish surety. As part of the process, he travelled to Ludhiana with Divya and Amit Dhalla on April 12, 2025.

An application was then submitted before a revenue official for a no-encumbrance certificate and valuation report concerning property belonging to Narinder’s father. Narinder alleged that the accused retained the property documents, telling him they would be kept as security.

He later became suspicious when the accused failed to provide details of the liquor vends and demanded another ₹10 crore, according to the complaint. Narinder decided not to proceed with the proposed partnership and repeatedly sought the return of his father’s property documents As his requests paid no heed, he registered a case against the accused in March 2026.

ASI Ajit Kumar, who is investigating the case, said, “A case was registered on Sunday and the allegations are subject to investigation. We will examine excise department records, valuation and solvency documents, stamp papers, notarial records and details of the alleged liquor-business transactions to establish how the complainant was shown as a surety. A hunt is on to nab the accused.”