Ludhiana

Machhiwara police have booked three persons on charges of forging documents to sell 53 kanals of land worth crores of rupees in Udhowal Khurd village.

The accused have been identified as Mahinderpal Singh of Khanna, Iqbal Singh of Machhiwara and Karnail Singh, lambardar of Udhowal village.

The case was registered on the complaint of Ashu Gulati of Zirakpur, who told the police that her mother, Saroj Handa, had purchased the land in 1981. According to the complaint, her name appeared as the owner in the old revenue records.

The dispute centres on an entry in the 2001 jamabandi, in which Saroj Handa’s name was recorded as “Saroj Rani, wife of Janak Handa”.

Gulati said the name did not belong to her mother and alleged that the incorrect entry was later used to prepare a purported power of attorney in favour of Mahinderpal Singh.

The document identified “Saroj Rani” as a resident of Brampton, Canada. Gulati told the police that her mother, Saroj Handa, had actually been living in the US and had died there on June 8, 2018.

According to the complaint, Mahinderpal used the disputed power of attorney to sell the 53-kanal property to Iqbal Singh. Gulati alleged that the two had colluded to acquire the valuable property by relying on the erroneous revenue entry and the purported identity of Saroj Rani.

The complaint also raises questions over possession of the land.

Gulati claimed that neither Mahinderpal nor Iqbal was in possession of the property and that a farmer from Machhiwara had been cultivating it for several years.

Police examined documents submitted by the parties before registering the case against the three accused under relevant provisions.

Machhiwara SHO Karamjit Singh said the police were verifying the authenticity of the documents and examining the circumstances surrounding the transfer of the property.

He said the investigation would also establish whether other persons were involved in the alleged forgery.