Goa: ED seizes properties worth Rs 60 crore grabbed by land mafia

Panaji, July 1 The Enforcement Directorate attached immovable properties worth Rs 60.05 crore in connection with its ongoing money laundering investigation against Estevan Dsouza and others involved in a conspiracy to grab private properties in Goa, an official said on Tuesday.

The assets seized comprise land parcels in Village Pilerne, Bardez, Goa, which were found to have been unlawfully acquired using forged sale deeds and fabricated affidavit-cum-No Objection Certificates (NoCs), said the official.

The properties are held in the name of Rosa Maria Dsouza, grandmother of Estevan Dsouza. The latest asset attachment by the ED is in addition to an earlier Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) dated November 8, 2023, through which properties worth Rs 11.82 crore were attached.

The ED initiated the probe on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Goa Police against Estevan Dsouza and others, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, for offences including cheating and forgery involving illegal transfer of property ownership using fake documentation.

The ED investigation revealed that Estevan Dsouza played a key role in the alleged land scam, in collusion with Mohammed Suhail and others.

They are alleged to have orchestrated a systematic scheme involving the forgery and manipulation of land-related documents, including sale deeds, to fraudulently acquire multiple high-value properties, the ED said.

These forged documents were misrepresented as genuine to lend a façade of legitimacy to the illegal transactions, said the ED statement.

The ED investigation revealed that Mohammed Suhail, along with other accomplices, hatched a criminal conspiracy of illegal land grabbing in Goa, in which they used to search for such unattended properties where the actual owner of the property had either died without any legal heir or the legal heir was living outside India.

After identifying the potential properties for cheating and fraud, they committed offences punishable under sections including cheating, criminal conspiracy, impersonation and using forged documents.

The accused allegedly executed a sale deed/irrevocable power of attorney by using forged documents, through impersonator(s) of legitimate owners; and undertook property transactions, said the police.

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