Doon SSP reviews progress of investigation into fake registry case
By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 19 Sep: Dehradun SSP Ajay Singh has reviewed the ongoing SIT investigation into the land registry fraud case. During the review, it came to the notice of the SSP that strict action has not been taken against the main accused Kunwar Pal Singh (KP Singh), a Saharanpur based land fraudster in several past cases registered against him in Uttarakhand. His name had in the past also cropped up in a case where a property belonging to an old lady in Clement Town was illegally demolished by Singh’s henchmen. In that case, it was suspected that the local police officers posted at Clement Town Police Station were also involved and had deliberately avoided acting against Singh despite the complaint by the land owners. The local police officers had then tried to paint the whole story as a result of land dispute. The DGP had subsequently ordered action but the district police did not proceed with the investigation seriously.
Now, during the review of the investigation being conducted by the SIT into the fake registries case, the fact has resurfaced that he was one of the main accused in the case of illegal demolition of a house in Clement Town. Singh wanted to grab the land and the land owners had to run from pillar to post in order to save their property. They had complained to the higher police authorities of involvement of local police officers. The property was saved but the house had been demolished already by then. This case had reached the Uttarakhand High Court forcing the police to file a chargesheet against Singh, but no further action was taken even after that.
Even in the present case, the police initially appeared to be reluctant to act against KP Singh and were happy to arrest just one major accused, Kamal Virmani, a lawyer. However, when the Doon Bar Association staged a demonstration and stayed off work for a day, demanding arrest of KP Singh and accused the police of protecting the main accused, the arrest took place. Even then no effective action has been taken against Singh apart from the arrest, so far.
Meanwhile, new cases of forged registries are continuously coming to light. Tampering with documents has been confirmed in the land registries of Rajpur Road and Rajendranagar, Kaulagarh, with respect to the newly registered complaints. In this case, two cases have been registered at the city police station on the complaint of Assistant Inspector General, Stamps, Sandeep Srivastava. Seven cases have already been registered and 10 accused have been arrested in the case of change of ownership by tampering with the records in the Sub Registrar’s Office. A total of nine cases have been registered, so far, in the matter. According to the complaint, one case is related to the property on Rajpur Road. The registry of this plot of land was done in the year 1979. The land was then sold to Prem Chandra, resident of Kanwali Road, on the power of attorney of NN Singh, resident of Long John Hill, Norwich, England, and his wife Raksha Singh. It is shown to have been sold in the year 1979 to Ramratan Sharma resident of Hiranwada (Muzaffarnagar) through registry number 4222 to 4224. A cottage and garage have also been constructed on it. However, in the investigation, these registries have been found to be prima facie suspicious because of preliminary evidence of tampering emerging during the investigation and in some cases, the mandatory seal of Registrar’s office is also missing. The colour of the ink in these registries was also not found to be the same as the ink in other registries of that time. It is believed that, in order to commit fraud, the original registry was removed and a fake registry was kept in its place in the record room of the sub-registrar’s office. The second case of registry fraud was also found to be similar. 559 square yards of land of Rajendra Nagar, Kaulagarh is shown to be sold in the year 1989 through registry number 10491, which was sold by Pyare Lal Kaul, resident of Rajendra Nagar, to Swaran Singh, resident of Baheri (Bareilly). There is a six-room house and a small garden on this land. On examining this registry, it was found that the registry has been recorded as the final document in the concerned volume. Use of blue ink was found in the registry. Use of black ink was found in other registries. During testing, variations were also found in the seal and handwriting in this registry.
Like other previous cases of registry fraud, these two cases have also been filed against unknown persons. SIT in-charge Sarvesh Panwar has claimed that investigation into the case has been started and whoever is found involved will be made the accused and arrested and other legal action will be taken.
