J&K Crime Branch files charge sheet against three brothers in land-fraud case

Jammu, Dec 2 (PTI) The Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Crime Branch on Saturday filed a charge sheet against three brothers accused of duping a man of Rs 43 lakh after luring him to enter a deal for the sale of 2.5 kanal of their land in Samba district, an official said.

The Economic Offences Wing of the Crime Branch (Jammu) filed the 253-page charge sheet in court against Narayan Singh, Suram Singh and Chain Singh for defrauding Manmohan Singh, a resident of Gandhi Nagar in Jammu, an investigating agency spokesperson said.

The official said the victim alleged that the accused approached him with an offer to sell their land measuring 51 marlas (2.5 kanal) at Birpur for Rs 51 lakh on the pretext that the land was coming under acquisition.

They allegedly told Manmohan Singh that if he paid each brother Rs 17 lakh, he would be authorised to receive the compensation amount at the end of the acquisition proceedings.

The brothers had claimed that the compensation for acquisition of the land would be higher than what he would be paying them to buy their land, the official said.

A special power of attorney was executed by the three accused in December 2021. An agreement to sell was also executed in favour of the complainant that acknowledged the receipt of the “consideration amount” and his rights, the spokesperson said.

He said the accused’s plan to defraud the complainant was exposed after they approached the collector for land acquisitions with a written communication that they had cancelled the special power of attorney granted to the complainant. They also demanded that the collector make the payment into their account.

After a complaint was lodged, a preliminary verification was initiated. It was found during the probe that the allegations were substantiated, leading to the registration of a formal case for an in-depth investigation, the spokesperson said.

The investigators seized relevant records, recorded witness statements, gathered scientific, circumstantial and other material evidence and offences under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code were established against the accused for luring the complainant in a deceitful manner with criminal intent and duping him of Rs 43 lakh, the official added.