Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
A case of cheating involving ₹35 lakh has come to light, where a municipal officer was duped after fraudsters placed a fake ownership board on someone else’s plot. A gang of land mafia allegedly orchestrated the scam by luring the victim with an offer to sell a prime plot in Jalannagar. Based on the complaint, a case was registered against five persons at Vedantnagar police station on Friday, and the main accused, Mohammed Ejaz Mohammed Riyaz (60), has been arrested.
Shaikh Shahed Shaikh Nizam (55), a Livestock Development Officer (LDO) with the municipal corporation and a resident of Jalannagar, came into contact with broker Mohammed Ejaz and his son Adnan in January 2023. They offered to sell a 147.3 sq metre plot in Jalannagar and persuaded him to purchase it. When Shahed visited the site, he saw a board displaying Ejaz’s ownership. Ejaz claimed he had purchased the land from one Narmada Agrawal and showed forged documents to support his claim.
Trusting him, Shahed finalised the deal for Rs 47 lakh and paid Rs 35 lakh on February 16, 2023, completing the agreement and sale deed formalities.
One-day board, Rs 35 lakh deal
A few days later, when Shahed asked for the original sale deed, Ejaz began to evade him. Growing suspicious, Shahed conducted his own inquiry and discovered that the land actually belonged to Zaini Zeenat Abdul Ajit. Ejaz had merely installed his own name board on the plot temporarily to gain trust and complete the deal.
When Shahed demanded his money back, the accused showed him alternative plots at Beed Bypass and Bansilalnagar, but those too were found to belong to others. According to the complainant, the accused possess forged documents and fake PR cards for several plots across the city. Police Inspector Praveena Yadav confirmed that Ejaz was arrested soon after the case was registered.
Accused booked
Those booked include Mohammed Ejaz, his wife Tajunnisa, his sons Mohammed Imtiaz and Mohammed Adnan (all residents of Aref Colony), and Shivkumar Ghurelala Chavan (resident of Pahadsingpura). Following Ejaz’s arrest, the others have absconded.
Previous fraud cases linked to similar gangs
A gang involving Shaikh Irfan Shaikh Shafiq and others including three ladies (all residents of Salman Hall, Delhi Gate) has recently been booked in three cases for preparing fake land documents and duping several people in deals worth crores. Irfan has been absconding since February.
On March 28, Arjun Sakharam Tambe and his wife Surekha (Mukundnagar) cheated a businessman of Rs 18.90 lakh using forged Aadhaar and other documents by posing another woman as the owner.
Habib Saleh Habib Ahmed (49), a resident of Kalyan, has also duped several people in the city by offering prime plots for sale. Five major land scam cases have surfaced against him, along with two FIRs.