2 held for creating, distributing fake forest rights certificates to villagers in Kabirdham

Kawardha (Chhattisgarh), Jul 18 (PTI) Two men have been arrested for allegedly creating and distributing counterfeit forest rights certificates to 19 villagers in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district, police said on Thursday.

The duo, along with two others wanted in the case, collected Rs 3.34 lakh from the villagers for issuing these fabricated documents, they said.

Forest rights certificates are distributed by government authorities to adivasis and other traditional forest dwellers who are in possession of forest land for the last three generations under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006. These papers establish the ownership of the land in their possession.

The accused, identified as Mannulal Khushre (34) and Mukesh Yadav (32), residents of Rengakhar area of the district, were arrested on Wednesday, a police official said.

Efforts were on to trace two more accused in the case, Devilal Kushre and Ramkumar Yadav, natives of the same area, he said.

On getting complaints about illegal encroachment on forest land in Rengakhar forest range, which shares border with neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, using fake documents a couple of months ago, forest department officials examined land rights certificates distributed in the area, the official said.

The examination found forest rights certificates of 19 residents from eight villages fake as they carried forged signatures and seals of the district collector and divisional forest officer (DFO), he informed.

Subsequently, forest department personnel lodged an FIR in this connection on June 29 under IPC sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 34 (common intention) at the Rengakhar police station against four persons.

A joint team of the forest department and the local police launched a probe into the case, he said.

The investigation revealed the four accused collected Rs 3.34 lakh from villagers and gave them fake forest rights certificates, the official said.