2 held for fraudulently selling land to Army, CRPF personnel in Odisha

BHUBANESWAR: THE Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch arrested two persons on charges of fraudulently selling plots to an Army and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel. 
EOW said the mastermind of the racket Antaryami Senapati, a clerical assitant by profession, and his associate Ananta Kumar Pradhan have reportedly committed at least eight land frauds with the assistance of three other accused - retired Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) staff Haladhara Dash, Subadha Kumar Parida and Mamata Parida.

The accused fraudulently sold two plots to CRPF personnel Brajkishore Senapati and his wife Gitanjali Mohapatra. They impersonated as the plots genuine owners Sabita Sahoo and Anil Chandra Pattanayak by preparing fake sale deeds using forged documents. 

They took Rs 18 lakh from Brajkishore for the two plots but the victim later found out about the fraud and lodged a complaint in Badagada police station. Similarly, the accused cheated Army personnel Ajaya Kumar Senapati by selling him a land measuring 2,600 sq/ft. They impersonated as the land’s bonafide owner Sarat Kumar Sanabada.

The accused even fraudulently sold four plots of one Satyabhama Das without his knowledge. One of the plots of Satyabhama was sold to accused Haladhara’s wife, said an EOW officer. The agency has issued a toll free number -  18003457103 for any person who has been cheated by Antaryami, Haladhara and other accused. EOW had registered a case against the accused on February 21. Haladhara, Subadha and Mamata were earlier arrested in connection with the case. The agency has advised the citizens to verify the Aadhaar card details in case of any suspicion.

“Initial investigation suggests the accused have been committing land frauds in and around Bhubaneswar since 2018 and they have collected more than `1 crore from the victims,”  said an EOW officer.