Seven, including revenue employees, booked for selling HUDA land

Police have booked two revenue department officials and a property dealer, along with four of his associates for allegedly selling a 1089 sq ft Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) plot in Carterpuri by getting it registered with forged documents, officials said on Tuesday.

According to police, the property dealer told Dimpi Kumari and her husband Santosh Kumar, residents of Sector 23, that the plot was village land (lal dora) and they agreed to purchase it. The property dealer then registered the plot in Dimpi’s name for 77 lakh on August 25, 2021. He assured the couple that the required documents, including a report from the sarpanch, were submitted at the registry office.

Santosh, who runs a computer repair and spare parts shop in Gurugram, said that they constructed boundaries on the plot but HUDA officials demolished the constructions in February this year. It was then that the couple came to know that the authority acquired the land several years ago.

“We spent ₹80 lakh in total to purchase the plot, including stamp duty of 2.25 lakh and 3 lakh in brokerage. The broker fixed the land cost at 45 lakh on paper,” he alleged.

Police said the couple rushed to the registrar’s office and got to know that no report from the sarpanch was submitted before executing the registry. They took a loan of 38.5 lakh from a private firm with the property dealer’s help to pay for the land and are paying an EMI of 40,150.

Dimpi submitted a complaint on July 5 this year, following which the Economic Offences Wing carried out an inquiry. Finally, an FIR under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 406 (criminal breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the seven suspects at Palam Vihar police station on Monday night.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said police have begun an investigation into the case. “Action will be taken against culprits found involved in the forgery,” he added.