Two held for forging Collector’s signature in Vellore

Two persons were arrested by Vellore South police on Wednesday for forging the signature of the District Collector to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for DTCP (Directorate of Town and Country Planning) approval.

Police said the arrested persons were identified as K. Tamil Selvan, 35, who works in the postal section at the Collectorate and B. Thyagarajan, 41, a real estate agent. They are residents of Vellore.

Initial inquiry revealed that landowner Mohammed Shah Jahan, 56, has around 1.3 acres of patta land near Saduperi lake that comes under Vellore Corporation limits. He decided to convert the open patta land into commercial residential plots for sale.

As the police said the land does not have DTCP approval, Shah Jahan sought the help of his friend Abdul Latif, 42, for the job. Latif got in touch with real-estate agent Thyagarajan. Police said the trio sought the help of Tamil Selvan, who works in the Collectorate, to get DTCP approval for the land. Selvan reportedly forged the signature of District Collector and issued a NOC to get DTCP approval from the civic body.

Police said during verification of documents, revenue officials found forgery of the Collector’s signatures. Based on a complaint by the District Revenue Officer (DRO), the Superintendent of Police (SP) A. Myilvaganan formed special teams to nab the suspects.

Special teams nabbed Tamil Selvan and Thyagarajan. Two others, including the landowner, are absconding. A case was registered. Arrested persons were lodged at Central Prison in Vellore. A probe is under way.