VISAKHAPATNAM: Land prices in Visakhapatnam reached such new heights that grabbers have not even spared the lands of the kin of a Member of Legislative Assembly. The land in question belonged to MLA P Vishnu Kumar Raju’s father, which was trespassed and occupied by a gang of land grabbers at Anandapuram area. It took both collector’s and Police commissioner’s joint effort to save the land from the culprits.
The arrested have been identified as Gudla Ramana, D Kanakamma, D Srinu, D Ramu and U Devi, D Appala Guruvulu and D Rambabu, all from the city.
ACP (Madhurwada) D Ravi Babu said the accused trespassed and occupied 38 cents of land belonging to P Satyanarayana Raju, father of MLA P Vishnu Kumar Raju, at Kallivanipalem area of Anandapuram mandal in the city. Police said P Satyanarayana Raju purchased two separate plots of land of 26 cents and 12 cents at Kallivanipalem in the city.
Reportedly, Gudla Ramana obtained a fraudulent general power of attorney (GPA) from D Kanakamma, D Srinu, D Ramu, U Devi and registered both the plots of P Satyanarayana Raju in his name on July 29, 2015. The other two accused D Appala Guruvulu and D Rambabu helped Ramana with the land registration. After completing the fake registration, Ramana and a few others occupied the land and also threatened Satyanarayana’s brother-in-law Goplakrishna Raju, who had earlier accused Ramana of land grabbing. Based on the complaint from Satyanarayana Raju, who produced original documents of the land, Anandapuram police arrested Ramana and six others.