Realtors, officials booked for tax fraud
14 PEOPLE, INCLUDING PRIVATE DEVELOPERS AND REVENUE OFFICIALS, BOOKED FOR ALLEGEDLY FUDGING LAND RECORDS
GURUGRAM : The police on Saturday booked 14 people, including private developers and revenue officials, for allegedly fudging records to execute land sale deeds and causing loss of over ₹2.47 crore to the state exchequer.
The case was registered after a local court directed the police on Saturday to register a criminal case against six builders, three tehsildars and five registry clerk/computer operators of Manesar revenue office.
The complainant, an RTI activist, also levied allegations against the station house officer (SHO) of Manesar police station in the FIR, saying that the officer did not file a case when he had approached him two months ago.
The complainant, OP Kataria, alleged that the records were manipulated to show that Sihi village land in Manesar was out of the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram ( MCG), i n order t o avail of reduced stamp duty of 5%.
For the sale of land under the civic body, one has to pay 7% of the total value of land as stamp duty.
Kataria said that Sihi village was brought under the jurisdiction of MCG in 2009. “The officials, in connivance with the builders, tampered with revenue records and paid 5% stamp duty, instead of 7%. I had approached the SHO at Manesar police station two months ago, but the police did not conduct a probe, following which I went to the court,” said Kataria.
According to the complainant, sale deeds for eight properties were registered by charging a decreased stamp duty.
Rajesh Kumar, deputy commissioner of police, (DCP), Manesar, said that a case has been registered. “As per the directions of the court, we have initiated a probe and are conducting the investigation,” he said.
A case was registered against the suspects under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant, or by banker, merchant) or agent, 415 (cheating), 465 (forgery), 466 (forgery of record of Court or of public register), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Manesar police station.
In December 2018, the police had registered a case against 28 people for allegedly tampering with records to execute the sale of over 53 properties in Sihi and Kherki Daula villages of Manesar tehsil.