TV
A case of alleged land fraud came to the fore after police, on Friday, arrested Sambalpur district Sub-Registrar Surya Narayan Samal for reportedly selling a piece of land belonging to a deceased person by portraying him as alive. Complicating matters further, the same land was then sold to another set of buyers, opening a can of worms.
According to reports, the 21-decimal plot of land in question is situated in the Budharaja area of Sambalpur and belongs to the family of Binod Gupta, who passed away a while ago. However, the Sub-Registrar allegedly put up the plot for sale and hooked prospective buyers.
Forgery and the First Sale
The Sub-Registrar then reportedly proceeded to forge the deceased status of the original owner, Binod Gupta, and claimed he was alive. Subsequently, the land was sold to Venkata Balaji Patra and his brother, Sujit Patra, from Bhubaneswar, using forged documents and signatures.
Second Sale Raises Alarm
Reports mentioned that after a few months, the two brothers sold the land to an entity named Shyama Trading, making Sumit Das and Chiranjeevi Guru of Sambalpur the second ‘illegal’ buyers of the land.
Family Discovers the Fraud
Notably, all of this happened without the notice of the family of the deceased original landowner. The family discovered the fraud when Sumit Das and Chiranjeevi Guru attempted to take possession of the land. Subsequently, they filed a police complaint with the Town police station.
Sub-Registrar Files His Own Complaint
In another twist to the case, Sub-Registrar Surya Narayan Samal also filed a police complaint around the same time, alleging that the first ‘unauthorized’ buyers, Venkata Balaji and Sujit Patra, were threatening him with dire consequences.
Arrests Made in the Investigation
Based on Samal's complaint, the police arrested Venkata and Sujit. Following further investigation and the complaint from the original owner’s family, the police also arrested Sub-Registrar Surya Narayan Samal.
Accomplices and Ongoing Investigation
Additionally, two accomplices, Sriranjan Pattnaik and Chandra Prasad Dungura, were also taken into custody. Notably, an Inspector-rank officer has been included in the police investigation into the entire fraudulent operation.
Current Status of the Case
As of the latest reports, police stated that an extensive probe into the matter was ongoing and that they would soon issue a statement.
