PANAJI
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on land grab arrested two persons including a notorious fraudster in connection with separate FIRs for alleged forgery of property documents and its sale without the knowledge of the original owners.
Royson Rodrigues, already implicated in other land grab cases, was arrested in a 2,250 sq mtrs property fraud, by faking documents before the government officials. The property belongs to a family in Assagao, and as per the complaint to the SIT, the property’s owner discovered the fraudulent sale during the mutation process and promptly filed a complaint.
In a separate case, Rajesh Verekar, aged 47 years from Porvorim, was arrested for his involvement in the Socorro land fraud. Local resident Marta alleged that Afra Monteiro from Mumbai, along with others, forged her property documents using fake government stamps and impersonated legal heirs.
At least six properties were transferred to the accomplices’ names, with all formalities completed before the concerned authorities. The search for other accused is ongoing, the SIT officials said.
