The officials of Fraud and Misappropriation wing of the Central Crime Branch arrested a land dealer who, using the Right to Information (RTI) Act, sourced copies of property documents belonging to an NRI, and forged them with the intention to sell it. The scam was busted when the prospective buyer verified the documents, found them to be bogus and tipped off the police.
Assistant Commissioner of Police G.T. Ajjappa said the scamster, N. Basavaraju, a resident of BTM Layout, is a habitual offender involved in several forgery cases, including two of creating fake ration cards. Basavaraju was eyeing the 45 ft by 54 ft property worth Rs. 3 crore in BTM Layout belonging Mohammed Ghouse who lives in Washington.
The police said misusing RTI, he got the property details and created fraudulent documents, forged the seal and signature of revenue officials to create a general power of attorney (GPA), dating back to 1998, in the name of 70-year-old woman identified as Unnamalai. He also created a declaration and confirmation deed, dating back to 1999, to make it look like he had purchased the property from her for Rs. 30 lakh. Using the forged documents, he even got the property transferred at the Shantinagar Sub-Registrar’s Office in the name of himself and his partner, Girish Kumar. Both then started looking for a buyer.
But their luck ran out when a prospective client got the documents checked.
The police arrested his associate and Jayamani, who had convinced her mother, Unnamalai, to be the fake owner of the property.
