Ex-revenue officer among two held for forging land records in Sohna case

Police said the accused prepared fake mutation records for a real estate project after a 2018 collaboration deal. Five people have been arrested so far in the probe.

Two people, including a former government revenue officer, were arrested for allegedly preparing forged land records in connection with a land fraud case linked to a real estate project in Sohna, police said on Saturday.

EOW-I said the accused allegedly created fake documents and altered terms of a development deal, receiving ₹40,000 for facilitating fraudulent entries. (File Photo)

The accused were identified as Satbir Rathi (58), a resident of Rathivas village in the Gurugram district, and Vishan Kumar (46), a resident of Jhundu Sarai village, police said. The arrests were made on Friday by a team of the Economic Offences Wing (EOW)-I of the Gurugram police. Both accused were produced before a court on Saturday and remanded to two days of police custody for further questioning, they added.

Police said Rathi had joined government service as a patwari (land and revenue officer) in 1997 and later served as a kanungo (supervisor of patwaris) in Sohna tehsil between 2020 and 2023, while Vishan Kumar worked as a contractual data entry operator handling land records.

The case stems from a complaint filed on July 11, 2024, by a real estate firm, alleging fraud in connection with a land development project in the Sohna area. According to the complaint, the company had entered into a collaboration agreement with landowners in 2018 to develop a parcel of land and had invested several crores of rupees in the project.

Police said the landowners, along with some individuals and real estate entities, allegedly conspired to create forged land-related documents and drafted a fake agreement to alter the terms of the original collaboration arrangement. Officers also said a dispute regarding access to the land was fabricated and incorrect land records were prepared, adversely affecting the company’s project and causing financial losses.

During interrogation, police said Rathi allegedly acted in collusion with another patwari, Rajendra, and Vishan Kumar to prepare forged land documents and mutation (intkal) records. Officers said the accused allegedly received ₹40,000 for facilitating the fraudulent records.

Five people identified as Satbir, Vishaan, Harish Kumar, Sunil and Balwan, have been arrested so far in connection to forging documents, and further investigation is underway. Harish, Sunil, and Balwan were under probe by the EOW-1 wing earlier in the case.