SAMBALPUR: A district sub-registrar and four others including land brokers were arrested by Sambalpur police for their alleged involvement in a major fraud using forgery and impersonation to illegally acquire a dead person’s land.
The accused were identified as Surya Narayan Samal, the sub-registrar and land broker Chandra Prasad Dunguria, who were apprehended on Thursday. Three others, Sujit Kumar Patra, Venkat Balaji Patro, and lawyer Ranjan Pattnaik, were arrested on Friday. Police also seized a forged sale deed issued in September 2022 and a reissued sale deed dated January 2025.
IG Northern Range Himanshu Lal and Sambalpur SP Mukesh Bhamoo said the accused conspired to sell a 0.210-acre plot in Unit 14 in Sambalpur’s Danipali. The “gharabari” kissam plot was originally registered under the name of Binod Kumar Gupta, a government liquor shop employee from Bihar, who passed away in February 2001.
According to police, Gupta’s land remained abandoned for years after his death which attracted a group of brokers and conspirators, including Ajit Jena, Dunguria, Raghunath Bag, and Govinda Meher to falsely claim ownership. They collaborated with Venkat and Sujit from Bhubaneswar, forging documents in which Govind impersonated as Binod.
Using the falsified documents, Samal, who was the sub-registrar, approved a fraudulent sale deed on September 21, 2022, transferring the land to Venkat and Sujit for Rs 1.55 crore, while the actual contract value was only Rs 48 lakh. Govind received only Rs 3 lakh for his role.
The fraud was exposed when Binod’s family discovered the illegal transaction and filed complaints with the authorities, including the district sub-registrar and sub-collector of Sambalpur. Following a complaint by Murari Gupta, Binod’s brother, Town police station registered a case on June 6, 2024, after which an investigation was launched.
Upon learning of the complaint, Venkat and Sujit, fearing legal consequences, quickly resold the land to Shyam Trading Corporation for Rs 1.76 crore. To facilitate this transaction, they allegedly manipulated and pressured Binod’s legal heirs, with the help of lawyer Ranjan, into agreeing to the sale. The second sale deed was executed on January 17 this year.
On Tuesday, the district sub-registrar reported to Town police station, claiming he was coerced into approving the transaction and issuing another sale deed. Following this, police registered another case, leading to the arrest of the five.
SP Bhamoo said several accused, including Govind, are absconding, and an operation is on to arrest them