The CB-CID has expanded the scope of the probe into the illegal occupation of around 64,000 square feet of two pieces of land owned by Kamatchiamman Temple after the active involvement of revenue officials and the family of a legislator having business links surfaced in the grabbing of the prime property at Rainbow Nagar.
With pressure mounting on the police to bring the case to a logical conclusion or to hand it over to the Central Bureau of Investigation, the CB- CID has intensified the probe to identify the role of more revenue officials.
The probe agency has started gathering scientific evidence, by taking the support of fingerprint and forensic experts, to nab more culprits involved in one of the biggest land scams that has come to light in Puducherry in recent times. The police have so far arrested eight persons, including a Village Administrative Officer Chinnasamy alias Palani in the case. Another revenue official who was involved in the conspiracy died during the course of investigation.
The probe so far found that the officials conspired with other culprits, including one Manoharan of Sabari Educational Society, to create fake documents for the two pieces of land — one extending to about 31,000 sq. ft. and the other measuring 33,000 sq. ft. — some time in 2009. Investigators said the VAO was involved in issuing possession certificate for the land which was later given patta. Prima facie evidence have been collected by way of registration deeds in the name of culprits in violation of the Indian Stamp Act and other registration procedures, police sources said.
“Obviously, there is involvement of a large number of people in various sections of the Revenue Department. It was a deep-rooted conspiracy. There has been collusion in creating fake documents, obtaining possession certificate, issuance of patta and execution of settlement deals. We have also started probing the role of a notary in the whole case,” said a police officer.
According to a top official, the probe has revealed that the illegally occupied land was purchased by the members of a legislator family. “The matter has been taken up with the government and investigation is on,” the official said.
Zero value
Meanwhile, it is learnt that the police have written to the concerned revenue authority to freeze the GLR value of the land (zero value) to avoid multiplicity of litigation. The guideline value of the encroached land was about ₹12 crore and market value around ₹50 crore, said an official.
According to a temple trustee, the issue of encroachment was initially taken up with the Land Grabbing Complaint Cell under the Revenue Department several times but had not yielded any result.
“In late 1970s and 1980s, the temple used to receive 600 kg of paddy per year from the land which was given on lease, but after some years the land remained idle. A few years ago, we decided to give the land for a Goshala but then the people who had occupied the land, claimed ownership showing title deeds and that is when we decided to approach the police in 2016. But the issue was dragging even with the police till a year ago. Now the real test before the police is whether they will go beyond the officials and nab other powerful persons involved in the systemic land scam,” said a person associated with the temple.
It was on the instruction of Director General of Police Manoj Kumar Lal in 2022 that a team headed by Superintendent of Police R. Mohan Kumar and under the supervision of Senior Superintendent of Police Narra Chaitanya was constituted to investigate the case.
When contacted, Mr. Chaitanya said, “The probe is continuing and more details about the investigation cannot be disclosed at this stage. The CB-CID is investigating about 11 land grab cases and in 6 of those cases, French nationals are the victims.”
