Mohali: Revenue official booked for alleged land fraud, forgery in Zirakpur

According to the complaint, Jaswinder Kaur inherited a large tract of land from her mother in 2007 and retained around 9 acres after subsequent transactions and a family settlement. The land was also under a court-ordered status quo at the time.

A revenue official and his associate were booked by police on Thursday for allegedly orchestrating a land fraud by forging documents and illegally transferring a woman’s property in Zirakpur.

The alleged fraud came to light in 2022 when the accused attempted to get the land mutation approved. (HT Photo)

The accused, identified as Patwari Jagdish Sharma, and his associate Madhu Singh, allegedly exploited the complainant Jaswinder Kaur’s lack of awareness to manipulate official land records and execute a fraudulent sale.

According to the complaint, Jaswinder Kaur inherited a large tract of land from her mother in 2007 and retained around 9 acres after subsequent transactions and a family settlement. The land was also under a court-ordered status quo at the time.

Police said the accused prepared forged land records in 2012, inflating the landholding and omitting the court stay. They then allegedly took the complainant to another location and had her sign a general power of attorney (GPA) under false pretenses in favour of Madhu Singh.

Using this document, Madhu Singh executed a sale deed for 6 bighas of land in favour of Sita Devi, who is Jagdish Sharma’s mother.

The alleged fraud came to light in 2022 when the accused attempted to get the land mutation approved. The Tehsildar flagged discrepancies and rejected the mutation after suspecting forged documents.

During a subsequent inquiry, a Patwari whose signatures appeared on the documents stated that they had been scanned and forged, and confirmed that the original records at the time reflected a court stay on the property.

Following an inquiry by revenue and police officials, the SSP Mohali approved the registration of an FIR. Police booked the accused under IPC sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B related to cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.