Bengaluru Police have unearthed a sophisticated land fraud worth nearly ₹120 crores that involves forged documents, fake family records and the illegal transfer of six acres of land belonging to the renowned Adichunchanagiri Mutt. The investigation has brought 11 suspects in jail, including six government officials, and police are trying to track the mastermind who is still around.
The case is about six acres of prime land in Survey No. 43 of Kambalipura village in Kengeri Hobli, Bengaluru. According to investigators, the disputed land forms part of a larger 45-acre property donated to Adichunchanagiri Mutt by devotees nearly three decades ago. The accused allegedly forged ownership records and manipulated government documents to illegally transfer the land into private hands before selling it.
Among those arrested are some private individuals, Arogyaswamy, Francis Joswan, Srinivas and Narendra, and six government officials. The officials who were arrested include Begur Village Accountant Shivaprasad, Revenue Inspector Kiran, Deputy Tahsildar Deepak, Kengeri Village Accountant Satish Kumar, Revenue Inspector Arun Kumar and another deputy tahsildar. Police said these officials were instrumental in the fraud by writing or approving fake documents, while they had been aware of the issues.
The case was taken up by Kengeri Police, who discovered what they describe as a highly organised conspiracy with an array of layers of deception. Naresh Gowda, the alleged mastermind of the operation, is from Nelamangala and is currently absconding. Police are now searching for him.
The investigation revealed a shocking sequence of events. Police say Naresh Gowda first recognised the valuable Mutt-owned land and developed a scheme to take it through fraudulent means. He met a broker, Arogyaswamy, in the first place, and together they started to concoct a false ownership claim.
Criminal conspirators needed a dead person whose identity could be linked to the original landowners, investigators say. In one of the strange turns, they went to a cemetery and looked for a grave with the same name in which one of the original owners was buried. Finding a name, they contacted the deceased person’s family members.
This led them to Francis, whose father’s name and age matched details related to the original landowner. Police say Francis and another accused, Joswan, were falsely presented as legal heirs by creating fake genealogical records. Police also say forged family trees and inheritance documents were prepared to establish ownership claims over the Mutt’s property.
The investigation suggests that several revenue department officials accepted bribes and helped create fake land records. They were then used to obtain mutation entries and transfer ownership rights. Despite knowing that the documents were fraudulent, some officials apparently approved the records and helped with the transfer process.
After getting ownership documents, the accused sold the land to third parties. The fraud was uncovered when property records of Adichunchanagiri Mutt began to show discrepancies, and the people filed a complaint with authorities.
The case was initially registered at Kumbalagodu Police Station. This was transferred for detailed investigation. Kengeri Inspector Jagadish was appointed as the investigating officer and led the investigation that ultimately exposed the fraud and resulted in multiple arrests.
Police officials have described the case as one of the most sophisticated land-grabbing operations uncovered in recent years. Now investigators are looking into whether similar techniques were applied in other property transactions involving the accused.
Police said they are working to recover the disputed land and bring all involved persons to justice. Land record manipulation and corruption in revenue administration have again surfaced in the case.
