MAPUSA
Even as the State government's Special Investigation Team (SIT) continues to unravel Goa's sprawling land grabbing network, two fresh criminal cases registered within days of each other at the Mapusa and Porvorim police stations suggest that the business of allegedly acquiring prime properties through fraudulent means remains alive and well in Bardez.
Although the two FIRs relate to separate transactions, police have found a striking commonality. One accused – Karan Ganpat Parab of Pilgao – figures in both cases, prompting police to examine whether the latest complaints are isolated incidents or part of a wider network targeting high-value properties before passing them on to real estate developers.
The cases once again expose the alleged modus operandi that has surfaced repeatedly in Bardez over the past few years – valuable land with complicated ownership histories or pending transactions allegedly being diverted through forged documents, impersonation or dishonest sale transactions before ultimately reaching builders and developers.
Land transfer via forged identity
The more serious of the two cases concerns a 1,850-square-metre property bearing Survey No 19/1 at Pomburpa, originally owned by the late Francisco do Rozario Fernandes, who died in Harare, Zimbabwe, on November 2, 1970.
Based on a complaint lodged by Advocate Gajendranath Usgaonkar of Alto Porvorim, the Mapusa Police have registered an FIR against Shantaram Dattaram Desai, Dattaram Krishnarao Desai, Kashibai Dattaram Desai (all residents of Ambede, Sattari), Ganpat Sonu Parab, Jyoti Ganpat Parab (residents of Dattawadi, Mapusa, originally from Pilgao), Chetan Developers and Promoters and other unidentified persons.
According to the complaint, the accused allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy before July 12, 2021, impersonated the deceased landowner and created forged documents to transfer the property into their own names.
Police alleged that the exercise effectively deprived the legal heirs of their inheritance before the land was subsequently sold to a real estate company.
The FIR invokes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with cheating, forgery, impersonation, use of forged documents and criminal conspiracy.
Rs 2 crore paid, but land sold elsewhere
The second case, registered by the Porvorim Police, centres on a property at Sangolda where the complainant alleges that an Agreement for Sale was dishonoured despite payment of a substantial advance. According to the complaint filed by Dharampal Kukreja he entered into an Agreement for Sale with landowners Francis Fernandes and Romana Fernandes of Bandra, Mumbai, for property bearing Survey No 99/21 at Sangolda and paid an advance of Rs 2 crore.
Police said the complainant alleged that before the transaction could be completed, the same property was sold to a Goa-based real estate company.
The FIR names Francis Fernandes, Romana Fernandes, broker Nuru Faizal Bhatkar of Betim, Vinit Shet of Nausnola and Karan Ganpat Parab of Pilgao.
One name links both investigations
While the complaints arise from different transactions, police confirmed that Karan Ganpat Parab has surfaced as a common accused in both FIRs.
Police sources indicated that investigators are examining whether his alleged role extends beyond these two transactions and whether other suspicious property deals bear similar characteristics. "We are scrutinising the documentation, the sequence of transactions, revenue records and financial trails. If further evidence points towards a larger organised operation or additional fraudulent land transfers, the investigation will be expanded accordingly," a senior police officer said, while declining to comment on specific aspects of the ongoing probe. Officials stressed that all allegations remain under.
