Sub-Registrar arrested in ₹12-cr. land fraud case

The Museum police on Monday arrested Sasthamangalam sub-registrar Lakshmi in connection with the alleged fraudulent transfer of property including land and a residential building worth nearly ₹12 crore belonging to a NRI woman at Jawahar Nagar.

According to the police, the accused played a key role in the preparation and registration of forged documents used to illegally transfer the property. The land and house originally belonged to Dora Asariya Cripps, who is settled in the United States, who inherited the property through ancestral rights.

The fraud involved a 14-cent plot of land along with a 10-room residential building located in Jawahar Nagar. The racketeers allegedly created fake land deeds and other forged documents to usurp the property without the owner’s knowledge.

The police had previously arrested Manikandan, a document writer and a member of the District Congress Committee, in connection with the case. It was found that Manikandan was the mastermind behind the creation of forged documents to transfer ownership of the property. He has been named as the fifth accused in the case.