Two, including gazetted officer, arrested in land fraud

The Rajendranagar Police on Friday arrested a gazetted officer and a real estate businessman in connection with a land fraud case that involved forgery, impersonation and fraudulent property transactions.

The accused were identified as Naveedul Hafeez, 53, a Superintendent at the Agriculture University in Mulugu, and Ubaid Bin Mohammed, 51, a real estate businessman.

The case came to light following a complaint by Mohammed Imtiyaz Hussain, 49, who reported fraudulent dealings concerning plot number 520, measuring 277 square yards, in Budwel village. The plot originally belonged to late Ayesha Sultana, who died in October 2019. Investigations revealed that Hafeez, in collusion with his family members, conspired to grab the property. A woman impersonating the deceased owner allegedly executed a fake sale agreement and power of attorney in favour of Mohammed for ₹28.26 lakh in September 2023 without any payment actually being made.

Days later, Mohammed executed a forged sale deed in favour of Hafeez’s family members, again without any money being exchanged. The family members subsequently ‘sold’ the land to another group through a fraudulent deed in January 2024, using cheques that were never encashed. The land is presently occupied by an unauthorised furniture shop. Police said Hafeez paid Mohammed ₹60,000 as his share from the deal.

Both were arrested on charges of criminal breach of trust, cheating by impersonation and forgery under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. They were remanded to 14 days in judicial custody. Police said other suspects involved in the case remain at large.