4 booked for snatching land in Panvel belonging to Israeli national

Till 2000, father of the complainant, an Israeli national, used to visit his land in Panvel once in a while; in 2000, the father passed away and during the civil war, the family went underground from 2007 to 2016; it was then when the rumour that the family died in civil war started and land usurped

Four accused have been booked by New Panvel police for usurping a land belonging to an Israeli national in Panvel. The 75-year old-complainant’s parents used to stay on the ancestral land till the 1970s after which they relocated to Israel.

Four persons have been booked for snatching land in Panvel belonging to Israeli national. (HT FILE)

The complainant in the case, Ruwen Benjamin Bhalkar (75), a native of Israel, has three brothers and two sisters. All the six siblings were born at Akulwadi village in Gulsunde, Panvel, and lived there till 1973, after which they relocated to Israel.

Till the year of 2000, complainant’s father, Benjamin Bhalkar, used to visit his land in Panvel once in a while. In the year 2000, the complainant’s father passed away. During the civil war, the family of Bhalkar went underground from 2007 to 2016. It was during that time when the rumour in Panvel that the family died in civil war started.

In the year 2018, the complainant visited his land and learnt that taking advantage of the rumour, an accused identified as Vasant Koli got an imposter to pose as the complainant and sold the land to a third person. Primary investigations revealed that Koli, along with Anand Parmar, Ashfaq Dakwe and the imposter usurped the land together.

“We have booked the accused and are investigating the case further. Prima facie, the four seem to be involved in the case while we suspect more would be involved,” a police official from New Panvel police station said.

A case against the four has been registered under the sections of cheating and forgery of the IPC.