BERHAMPUR: Golanthara police on Monday arrested three persons on the charge of selling land of a dead woman by faking her identity.
The accused were identified as P Jagadish, P Bikram and P Saroj of Madanmohanpur village. The trio had allegedly presented another woman in Berhampur sub-registrar’s office identifying her as N Patila, the deceased, and sold her 500 decimal of homestead land.
Sources said Patila had died of old age around five years back. As her relatives were staying at different places, there was no one to look after her property including 500 decimal of homestead land in the village.
Last week, Patila’s granddaughter N Subhadra along with some relatives reached the village to repair the woman’s house. To her surprise, she found barricades around the house and on inquiry, came to know that the land had been sold to another person. She visited the sub-registrar’s office at Berhampur and was informed that Patila had come to the office on February 28 and sold her land for Rs 24.20 lakh in presence of three villagers as witnesses.
Subhadra then lodged a complaint with the sub-registrar along with the copy of Patila’s death certificate. She also filed an FIR with Golanthara police in this connection.
After investigation, police brought the three witnesses, Jagadish, Bikram and Saroj, for questioning. During interrogation, the trio confessed to have presented another woman N Potiamma in the sub-registrar’s office as Patila. Police arrested the accused and produced them in court on Monday.
On the other hand, Potiamma pleaded innocence and said she was not aware of the fraud. The accused had convinced her to visit the sub-registrar’s to sign for widow pension and a house under Indira Awas Yojana.
Golanthara IIC Bibekandanda Mahanta said further investigation is underway and other persons found involved in the fraud would be arrested soon.