PANAJI
As Goa witnesses a surge in land grabbing and property forgery cases, sub-registrars who processed disputed transactions are likely to come under police scanner, with investigation teams examining how alleged forged documents were registered before fraudulent property deals came to light.
Highly placed police sources confirmed to The Goan that officials attached to registration offices could be questioned in cases where forged Powers of Attorney, fabricated affidavits, fake notarised records or manipulated ownership documents were accepted and registered, all of which allowed disputed transactions to acquire an appearance of legality.
Police sources said a recurring pattern has emerged across the State’s growing list of property fraud cases. In many instances, forged documents allegedly enter the registration system first and are used to execute sale deeds, gift deeds or other conveyance documents before the fraud is eventually detected by the genuine owners.
“The alleged crime may ultimately land in a police station and later before a court, but in many cases the process begins much earlier when forged or fabricated documents are accepted for registration. Once a document is registered, the transaction acquires a semblance of legitimacy and unravelling the fraud becomes far more complicated,” a source said, explaining that questioning of sub-registrars, if not all, would be prioritized.
It is also learnt that nearly every police station in Goa is currently handling an average of seven to eight complaints of property fraud, forgery, cheating, impersonation and disputed ownership claims.
Besides these, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Land Grabbing is probing dozens of cases across the State.
“The pattern is strikingly similar case after case. The forged document enters the system, gets registered and only later does the genuine owner discover that the property has changed hands on paper. By then, the investigation often involves tracing multiple transactions, examining old records and identifying several individuals linked to the deal,” the source said.
In one of the latest developments, the North Goa Additional Sessions Court at Merces granted the SIT an additional two months to continue its probe into an alleged land grab and forgery case involving a disputed Mapusa property and accused Suleman Siddique Khan and others. This complaint was lodged in September 2020 by the Civil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar of Bardez alleging that unknown persons had prepared a forged sale deed by impersonating the lawful owners of the property.
Police sources said the case reflects a feature common to many property fraud investigations currently underway, where the disputed transaction culminates in the registration of a sale deed or similar conveyance document before the alleged forgery comes to light.
Amid ongoing probe across police stations, another senior officer, supervising the cases, pointed to fallout extending beyond the victims, given that these investigations have been consuming substantial police resources and manpower.
“Officers spend months collecting records from multiple departments, coordinating with revenue and registration authorities, recording statements and awaiting forensic examination reports. The burden on the system is enormous and resources that could be deployed elsewhere are tied up in unravelling fraudulent property transactions,” the source said.
