Suspended woman official among 26 booked for sale of animal husbandry dept land in Pune

Pune, Nov 15 (PTI) Police have registered a case against 26 persons, including a suspended woman sub-registrar, after a 15-acre plot belonging to the state Animal Husbandry Department in Pune district was allegedly sold in violation of the rules, an official said on Saturday.

The land located in Tathawade area of Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune city was sold for Rs 33 crore despite it being classified as non-transferable.

The Inspector General Registration (IGR) earlier suspended Vidya Shankar Bade (Sangle), senior clerk and in-charge sub-registrar (Class II) of Haveli number 17, in this matter as a joint inquiry by the Deputy Inspector General of Registration and Stamps and the District Registrar found that she had registered the sale deed despite clear restrictions on the land transfer.

The land was in possession of the animal husbandry department since 1945. However, the 7/12 extract of the this land parcel had the name of one Herambh Gupchup, who died in 1961, an official of the Pimpri Chinchwad police commissionerate said.

Since the 7/12 extract did not have the names of Gupchup's heirs, the tehsildar office updated the records stating that this land is in the possession of the animal husbandry department and cannot be sold or purchased without the permission of the government, he said.

"Despite the clear notings on the 7/12 extract, the heirs of Gupchup sold the land to two persons for Rs 33 crore and executed the sale deed with the help of Bade, who failed to verify the updated record that the animal husbandry department as the lawful owner," the official said.

According to the IGR officials, Bade also used the "skip" or "keep option" in the registration software to bypass verification safeguards.

Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sachin Hire, from Pimpri Chinchwad police, said a case of cheating has been registered against 26 persons -- 23 of them claiming to be Gupchup's heirs, two who purchased the land, and Bade, who facilitated the sale deed.

The development comes days after alleged irregularities surfaced in separate land transactions in Mundhwa and Bopodi in the district.

Two FIRs have already been registered in the Mundhwa case, which allegedly involves a company linked to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son Parth.

The IGR has already suspended a sub-registrar in the Mundhwa land deal case and a tehsildar in the Bopodi land deal case. PTI SPK NP