Two duped of ₹3.4 Cr in separate bogus land deals in Taloja

In both cases, the accused sold plots that had already been sold years earlier and had even been mortgaged with national banks. No arrests have been made so far

NAVI MUMBAI: The police have registered two separate cases of alleged land fraud involving ₹3.4 crore, exposing what police officers say is a pattern of cheating in property transactions in Taloja, Panvel. In both cases, the accused sold plots that had already been sold years earlier and had even been mortgaged with national banks. No arrests have been made so far.

Two duped of ₹3.4 Cr in separate bogus land deals in Taloja

According to the Taloja police, the first victim, Rizwan Ahmed Sheikh, 30, a construction professional from Mumbra, alleged that he and his associates were cheated of ₹1.90 crore. Sheikh told the police that he had been sold an approximately 2,700 sq.ft plot in Taloja Phase 2, but soon afterwards, he noticed that a bank had set up banners to auction the land. He then approached the bank and found that he had been duped since the land belonged to the bank.

Investigations later revealed that the accused, Ramesh Ramchandra Kalyankar, 40, and Sanjay Omprakash Singhal, 40, had sold him the plot in February this year, even though the land had been sold in 2004 and even been mortgaged for a loan. A police officer said, “Despite having knowledge of this, the accused allegedly executed multiple agreements and finally sold the land again.”

Kalyankar and Singhal were booked on Wednesday under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). However, Kalyankar’s name returned to the police radar through another case with a similar pattern.

A similar modus operandi

The second complainant, Mehmud Makbul Husen, 55, a real estate agent residing in Taloja filed a complaint with the police that he had been cheated of ₹1.50 crore. Husen told the police that he had been sold a 174-sq.m plot in Taloja Phase-2, Sector 16, on April 12, 2024. Investigations revealed that the land had originally been sold in 2004 and was subsequently mortgaged with a private bank in Mumbai.

“The plot was originally sold in 2004 but despite this, the accused allegedly sold the same property again to the complainant’s relative,” said a police officer. He added that Kalyankar, and two more accomplices, have been booked in the case.

The police said the involvement of the same primary accused in both cases points to a common modus operandi, involving the resale of mortgaged plots using registered documents and the acceptance of large payments through mixed modes using bank transfers and cash exchanges. “This raises suspicions of a larger property fraud network operating in the Taloja-Panvel region,” said a police officer.