2 lawyers among 3 held for land fraud

Gurugram, January 21

The state crime branch has arrested three persons, including two advocates, on the charge of selling off fraudulently two acres of land in the district’s Islampur village to a private company.

The Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (formerly Haryana Urban Development Authority) had, in 1993, acquired the land from three sisters. They had received compensation for their ancestral property.

One of them, Murti Devi, had, in September last year, filed a complaint against Ajay Chaudhary of Islampur village and his accomplices, accusing them of registering a sale deed of the land on the basis of forged documents and witnesses.

The complainant alleged the sale deed was registered in the name of Rohit Thakran of Jharsa village and the land was sold off for Rs 2 crore.

Advocates Chaman Lal Arora and Subhash Chand Arora stood witness to the fraudulent land registration process, the complainant alleged.

On the basis of Murti Devi’s complaint, a case was registered under Sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC at the Sadar police station here on September 17, 2020.

The case was transferred to state crime branch on November 11 last year.

The main accused, Rohit, arrested on Tuesday is on police remand. He will be produced in the city court on Saturday. The advocates nabbed today have been sent to judicial custody.

Dharmbeer, DSP, state crime branch, said the police were on the lookout for Ajay.

Mohammad Akil, DGP, Crime, said: “Rohit is an accused in liquor smuggling cases, while his accomplice Ajay is accused of killing a Rajasthan Police constable in 2006.” — OC