MAPUSA
The disappearance of three sale deeds from the office of the Mapusa sub-registrar has baffled both the police and legal professionals, turning the incident into a perplexing mystery.
While an inside job has not been ruled out, investigators are still struggling to determine the motive behind the missing documents, deepening the intrigue surrounding the case.
The incident came to light in late August when three individuals, whose sale deeds were registered between May and June of this year, approached the sub-registrar’s office to retrieve their documents.
However, the files were nowhere to be found.
Upon discovering that the deeds could not be traced, the sub-registrar, Rishik Naik, alerted his superiors and promptly decided to file a police complaint.
According to Mapusa Police, the three missing sale deeds belong to separate individuals, and each was registered on different dates.
One of the deeds was registered in May, while the remaining two were processed in June.
The police have since requested Naik to provide a detailed complaint, outlining the circumstances under which the sale deeds vanished, and have also sought access to CCTV footage from the sub-registrar’s office.
The involvement of an insider is being considered as a possible theory.
A prominent local advocate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, speculated that someone from within the office might be responsible for the disappearance.
However, the lawyer admitted that the reason for such an act remains unclear.
"I am at a loss to understand what the motive is to pilfer the files because the documents will still exist in the system," the advocate said, hinting that the records may have been digitised, which would make their physical disappearance less impactful.
Despite the gravity of the situation, police investigations have yet to yield any concrete leads. The authorities are continuing to gather more information from the sub-registrar’s office in an effort to shed light on the mystery.
The possibility of the theft being related to tampering with property records or stalling transactions has not been ruled out, although no clear pattern has yet emerged.
The missing sale deeds, which are legally binding documents that confirm the transfer of ownership of property, are critical to the affected individuals.
Their disappearance has raised concerns among property owners and real estate professionals, as it underscores potential vulnerabilities in the handling of sensitive documents within government offices.
Police are focusing on gathering more evidence, including reviewing CCTV footage and interviewing staff at the sub-registrar’s office.
