US-based NRI alleges land fraud worth `8.5 crore

Friday, 29/08/2014

http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=113684&boxid=60083&uid=&dat=2014-08-29

Kapurthala : “Five persons who belong to the land mafia being patronised by a senior political party leader in Phagwara are roaming freely and I have been living under their threats,” rued a US-based citizen Jatinder Singh, a resident of Phagwara while interacting with the media on Thursday.

He said that he has already given application to Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner as well as district SSP for demarcation and for taking possession of the land but he has neither got demarcation of his land and possession of land amidst threats to his life from the goons of the land mafia.

He is now forced to move Punjab and Haryana High Court for protection of his life besides meeting with Punjab NRI Sabha president Paramjit Singh to seek support for justice.

Giving details about the case, he said that he has been defrauded of a sum of nearly Rs 8.5 crore and has been moving pillar to post seeking justice.

He said that his father late Bagicha Singh was issued a power of attorney in favour of one of his trusted employees Mangat Singh, a resident of Palahi Gate, Phagwara, and through him a sale agreement of 15 acre of land situated in Phagwara at the rate of Rs 1.25 crore per acre was entered into by his father with two brothers, Gurpal Singh and Gagan Deep Singh, both residents of Choti Baradari in Jalandhar.

A sum of Rs 50 lakh was then received by his father at the time of the agreement with a condition to receive the balance amount of sale consideration after one year of this agreement, he stated.

He further said that the accused with dishonest and malafide intention in connivance with each other forged four illegal power of attorneys without paying any balance of sale consideration from Mangat Ram who was not authorised to appoint the sub-agents, only to defeat the right of the original owner, he alleged.

He further said that after the death of his father, the power of attorney was issued in favour of Mangat Ram was automatically lapsed but he, in connivance with other accused, had sold the land in an illegal manner and moreover not paid any consideration to him.

Before the matter came to his notice, the accused had transferred eight acres of land to various persons and thus defrauded him of nearly Rs 8.5 crore, he alleged.

It is pertinent to mention here that based on his complaint addressed to IG (NRI) Gurpreet Deo, a case was registered against the six accused, namely Mangat Ram, a resident of Palahi Gate, Phagwara, Pardeep Kumar, a resident of Khalwara Gate in Phagwara, Gurpal Singh and Gagan Deep Singh, residents of Choti Baradari in Jalandhar, Manish Kapoor, a resident of Jalandhar and Jatinder Singh, a resident of Mehli Gate, Phagwara under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of IPC on July 31.