A case has been registered against four individuals, including former Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Landge, for allegedly attempting to grab 10 acres of land in Wagholi area of Pune by forging documents. The FIR was filed at Chandannagar Police Station and caused a stir within the Pune Police Department. Other accused include Shailesh Sadashiv Thombare and Aparna Yashpal Verma, who also goes by the alias Archana Patekar.
The complaint was lodged by Crime Inspector Swati Khedkar, who was also investigating an earlier 2023 case filed by one Anand Bhagat under IPC sections 419, 468, 471, and 120(b). At that time, Landge was serving as the senior police inspector at Chandannagar Police Station. Although a 'Class B Summary' application had been submitted to the High Court, the hearing was later closed.
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Further investigation revealed that the original complaint was based on forged documents. A search of Bhagat's house led to the discovery of fake land papers. It was found that the woman who sold the land to Bhagat was not its actual owner. Another woman was allegedly impersonated to acquire fake ownership.
The accused allegedly took Rs 4.5 crore from one of the women involved, and Bhagat reportedly signed a Rs 2 crore 'memorandum of understanding' with Aparna Verma in Dubai, of which Rs 50 lakh was paid. Thombare was said to have deposited the remaining Rs 1.5 crore into Bhagat’s own account. Senior Inspector Seema Dhakane is investigating the case. The search for the remaining accused is ongoing, and more arrests are likely.