Navi Mumbai, March 16: Panvel City Police have registered a case against 14 people for allegedly attempting to grab 38.70 gunthas of land worth crores that had been allotted by the government to the widow of a soldier who died in service. The accused allegedly fabricated heirship certificates and forged documents by exploiting similarities in names to get their names entered in the land records.
Land originally allotted to soldier’s widow
The complaint was filed by Ranjan Gajanan Patil (64), a resident of Dhakta Khanda. According to police, Patil’s uncle Shankar Tukaram Patil, who served in the Indian Army, was injured in a firing incident before 1955 and later died during treatment.
As the soldier had no children, the government allotted 38.70 gunthas of land in Survey No. 561 at Dhakta Khanda to his widow Sitabai Shankar Patil in 1959. After Sitabai’s death in 1980, the land remained in the possession of Patil and his family through legal inheritance.
Alleged use of forged heirship certificate
Police said the accused allegedly took advantage of the fact that another woman named Sitabai Shankar Patil lived in Shahbaz village in Belapur, whose husband Shankar Gana Patil had died in 1968.
Using the similarity in names, the accused allegedly obtained an heirship certificate from a Belapur court for a different matter and later submitted it to the Panvel talathi office, falsely claiming that it applied to the Dhakta Khanda property.
By allegedly misleading revenue authorities, the accused managed to get the names of 14 individuals entered on the 7/12 extract of the soldier’s land, even though the rightful heirs were alive.
Fraud discovered during record check
The fraud came to light when the Patil family, who had conducted an official survey of the land in 2019 and regularly paid taxes, received a notice from the Sub-Divisional Officer’s office in 2023. On checking the land records, they discovered that the names of 14 other individuals had been added to the property documents.
After gathering relevant documents, Patil approached the court with the help of Panvel-based social worker Aslam Munshi. Acting on the complaint, the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Panvel ordered the registration of a case and directed police to investigate the matter.
Also Watch:
Case registered against 14 accused
Following the court’s directive, Panvel City Police registered a case against Dinkar Shankar Patil, Babybai Mahadev Patil, Sunita Umesh Bhopi, Sunil Mahadev Patil, Sudhir Mahadev Patil, Shrikant Mahadev Patil, Kashinath Shankar Patil, Hausabai Vasant Naik, Venubai Krishna Mhatre, Anandibai Pandharinath Patil, Prakash Pandharinath Patil, Babybai Pandharinath Patil, Prabhakar Pandharinath Patil and Ashok Laxman Teje.
"We have registered the case and further investigations are on," a police officer from Panvel City Police Station said.
To get details on exclusive and budget-friendly property deals in Mumbai & surrounding regions, do visit: https://budgetproperties.in/
