Staff Reporter :
A SENSATIONAL land-grabbing syndicate operating in the
posh localities of Ganesh Nagar
and Jatkhedi has been
unearthed by the Misrod police.
Following a detailed forensic
investigation, former Health
Department Deputy Director,
Pramod Srivastava, has been
sent to jail, while a manhunt is
underway for his associate and
mastermind, Suresh Menon.
According to Misrod police,
the case stems from a com
plaint filed by Shyamnath
Sharma. The victim alleged that
Srivastava and Menon had set
their sights on his five high-val
ue plots (Nos. 205, 207-C, B-37,
B-40, etc.) in Ganesh Nagar
Colony. To usurp these properties, the duo allegedly fabricated sale agreements and pos
session letters dated 2003 and
2018, using the names of
Sharma and his wife, Radha
Sharma.
The investigation took a decisive turn when the police questioned the notary, Bhagwan
Swarup Srivastava, whose sig
natures appeared on the 2003
agreement. The notary categorically denied signing the
documents, confirming they
were forged. Furthermore, a
claim in the forged papers stating that Srivastava’s mother had
loaned Rs 21 lakh to her daugter-in-law was found to be
entirely baseless and suspicious
by the authorities.
Suresh Menon, identified as
Srivastava’s ‘benami’ front, is
considered the mastermind
behind the legal complexities.
While Menon claimed in court
to be unemployed with mini
mal income, police found him
involved in dozens of land disputes across the city. His fraudulent tactics were exposed
when investigators found contradictory legal filings; in one
instance, Menon claimed ownership of Plot No. 205, while in
a separate forged agreement, he
signed as a witness
acknowledging
Shyamnath Sharma
as the owner. Initially
registered
under
Section
(Cheating),
420
the
police escalated the
charges after the
Q u e s t i o n e d
Documents (QD)
report confirmed the
forgery.
Serious
charges
under
Sections 467 (Forgery
of valuable security), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), and 471
(Using as genuine a forged document) have been added to the FIR.
The SDM (Kolar) court had previously scrutinized these documents
and concluded that Srivastava had no ownership rights over the
Bawadia Kalan lands. The court observed that the documents presented by the duo were “prima facie suspicious.” Police officials not
ed that the syndicate never produced original documents, relying
solely on photocopies to blackmail legitimate landowners. “This
arrest is a significant blow to the organized land mafia in the city,”
a senior official stated, adding that they are now probing other frauds committed by this group.