4 members of retired building inspector’s family arrested in Rs90L land fraud

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested four members of the family of a retired building inspector from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in connection with a Rs 90 lakh land investment fraud registered at the City Chowk police station. The whereabouts of the main accused is still not known.Considering the gravity of the case, police commissioner Pravin Pawar had transferred the case to the EOW. The FIR was registered on Friday after a trader alleged that he had been cheated using forged land documents and false promises of high returns.Police named Sheikh Irfan Azhar Sheikh Shafik, Gausiya Begum Sheikh Shafik, Hazra Samreen Sheikh (daughter of Sheikh Shafik), Shahista Tabsum Sher Khan (wife of Sheikh Salman), and Sheikh Shafik alias Sheikh Sahab, a retired building inspector, all residents of Salman Hall in the Delhi Gate area, as accused. Barring Irfan, all others were arrested, said EOW inspector Sambhaji Pawar.According to the FIR filed by Asad Khan Aziz Khan (35), a mobile shop owner from Sabjimandi near Paithan Gate, the accused persuaded him to invest in land deals by promising that an investment of Rs 1 crore would yield returns exceeding Rs 2 crore. The complainant told police that he and his brother sold their ancestral house and a shop in 2023 and received Rs 90 lakh, which they intended to invest in property. Irfan allegedly approached them, claiming that he and his family owned land in Gut No. 40 at Abdimandi and had a layout of plots in CTS No. 19/1 at Chaus Colony in Himayatbagh.To convince the complainant, Irfan allegedly showed a 7/12 extract, dated July 1, 2023, claiming ownership of 31 R land at Abdimandi and a layout plan for the Chaus Colony plots. Trusting the documents, the complainant transferred Rs 44.98 lakh to the bank account of Irfan's firm, GS Infra, between July and Oct 2023, and paid another Rs 45 lakh in cash at the firm's office at Delhi Gate.Police said a sale deed for the Abdimandi land was executed on July 12, 2023. However, when the complainant approached revenue officials to mutate the land in his name, he was informed that Irfan did not own 31 R of land in the survey number and only about 1 R remained in his name.Investigators also found that the same land was allegedly sold earlier to other buyers and forged 7/12 extracts, notarised GPA documents and layout plans were used to cheat investors.