MAPUSA
Five days after their arrest in connection with the Cunchelim land scam, a local court in Mapusa on Thursday granted bail to the three accused, nearly a year after the case first came to light.
Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Mapusa, released the trio – Raju Mandrekar, Raja Anthony and Sumit Phadte – on a bail bond of ₹10,000 each. As part of their bail conditions, the accused have been directed to report to the police station for three consecutive days following their release.
The accused were arrested by Mapusa Police last week for their alleged involvement in a large-scale land fraud in Cunchelim, where several unsuspecting buyers were duped into purchasing non-existent or illegally sold plots.
The arrests come almost a year after the first set of accused in the same case – Ramesh Rao, an employee of the Mapusa Municipal Council, Shakil Shaikh, and Ravi Chavan – were apprehended.
According to complaints filed by the victims, the accused allegedly lured buyers with offers of plots ranging between 100 to 250 square metres, priced at ₹4.5 lakh to ₹8 lakh, depending on the size and location.
Victims claimed they were shown forged documents, including fake land ownership records and bogus approvals for construction, leading them to believe the plots were legally valid and ready for development.
