Bhubaneswar: The Commissionerate Police has cautioned people in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack about fraudsters selling patches of land lying vacant for a long time by using fake documents and power of attorney.
The police have busted a gang of fraudsters who duped many people by selling others’ land for hefty amounts. The mastermind of the racket, identified as Bikash Panda, is now in police custody.
As per information, the gang has tricked at least 26 people into buying land using forged land documents and power of attorney. Gullible buyers are suspected to have been duped of around Rs 50 lakh.
Sharing information about the racket, additional DCP Sanjeev Satpathy of the special crime unit told reporters that the police had arrested a gang of eight professional fraudsters following allegations of fraud in land sale. It was suspected that several other people might have been cheated by them.
Subsequently, a woman from Cuttack filed a complaint alleging that a land broker named Bikash Panda tricked her into signing an agreement to sell her a piece of land and took Rs 3.5 lakh in advance.
The matter is being investigated and Bikash Panda was taken for custodial interrogation on Wednesday, he said, adding that during the investigation, the police came to know that Panda had signed similar agreements with 25 others and taken over Rs 50 lakh from them.
Stating that Panda is a professional fraud, he said it is suspected that all the 26 land sale deeds are fictitious and fake.
