GUWAHATI: Intensifying its cracking down on land sharks operating in Dehradun, the police arrested three individuals, including two from Assam, on August 12.
The arrested individuals were identified as Santosh Agrawal and Deep Chandra Agrawal, both hailing from Dibrugarh. The third individual, Dalchand, a Dehradun resident, was employed as a peon at the deputy registrar’s office.
Shedding light on the matter, Daleep Singh Kunwar, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Dehradun, todl the local media that Santosh and Deep are involved in timber and coal trading. The duo frequently visited Saharanpur to liaise with their business associates and their paths crossed with Imran, a practicing advocate who is currently absconding and is the prime accused in the forgery case.
Kunwar further disclosed that the illicit alliance took root a few years ago when the accused decided to manipulate registry documents to execute fraudulent land transactions. “The confessions of the three arrested individuals underscore their motivation – an easy path to monetary gains,” Kunwar stated. He also stated that relentless efforts are underway to apprehend Imran and any other potential suspects linked to the case.
According to official data released by the Dehradun district police on August 13, there is a sharp rise in land fraud cases in the capital of Uttarakhand. The data revealed that a total of 154 cases of land fraud were registered in the city in 2022, leading to the booking of 455 individuals. The unsettling trend continues in 2023, with a staggering 47 cases reported in just three months, resulting in the apprehension of 160 individuals.
Earlier this year, a historic British-era house, occupied by a retired naval officer’s widow and her mentally-disturbed daughter, was razed by land mafias in collusion with Clement Town police. In another distressing incident, a prominent city businessman faced charges of land fraud and forgery in the Rajpur area, accused of using falsified documents to usurp land owned by a local resident.
