Malkajgiri police have arrested two people for allegedly targeting disputed and abandoned properties in Hyderabad by forging land documents and impersonating owners or their legal heirs. A third accused is absconding, while investigators are examining whether the suspected network used the forged records in attempted property sales, registrations or mortgages.
The accused were identified as 40-year-old Mohd. Khaja Pasha, a real estate broker from Moula Ali, and 38-year-old Mohammed Zulfikhar Ali alias Chandu, a real estate businessman from Lalaguda. Vinod Kumar of Alwal, named as the third accused, is yet to be traced.
The suspected racket came to light after the Malkajgiri Zone Special Operations Team and Malkajgiri police searched Pasha’s residence at Chanda Bagh in Moula Ali on October 6. Officers recovered nine knives, land documents suspected to be forged, blank bond papers and fake revenue stamps, according to the police.
Pasha, whom the police described as a rowdy-sheeter previously involved in 11 cases, was taken into custody. Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B. Sumathi said during questioning that Pasha allegedly disclosed Zulfikhar’s role in preparing fake land agreements and related documents. Police then searched Zulfikhar’s residence at the Lalaguda Railway Quarters.
The second search led to the seizure of suspected forged property documents, blank bond papers, a computer, a colour printer and 22 rubber stamps and seals. Commissioner Sumathi said the seals purportedly belonged to several authorities, including three Sub-Registrar offices in Hyderabad East, four Gram Panchayat offices at Narsampet in Warangal and the Additional Inspector General of Stamps in Hyderabad. Two seals also carried purported signatures of officers.
Investigators said the alleged operation began by identifying disputed, abandoned or otherwise vulnerable properties. The network then collected details of original owners and legal heirs, along with certified copies of title and revenue records, legal-heir certificates and death certificates. Police allege that Pasha supplied these records and fabricated revenue stamps to Zulfikhar, who worked with Vinod Kumar to prepare forged sale deeds, bond papers and identity documents, including Aadhaar cards and passports.
The suspected documents were allegedly intended to create false claims over land and enable the impersonation of genuine owners or legal heirs. Such activity can affect the reliability of property transactions by introducing fraudulent claims into processes that depend on title records, identity documents and registration papers. The police have not yet disclosed the properties or survey numbers allegedly targeted by the network.
Police are examining the seized material to identify the properties involved and establish whether the documents were already used in fraudulent transactions, cheating, impersonation or the creation of false title claims. Investigators are also examining why nine knives were kept at Pasha’s residence, including whether they were intended to intimidate people connected with land disputes.
Efforts are continuing to trace Vinod Kumar and identify other associates and possible beneficiaries of the suspected network. The investigation will also determine whether any forged documents reached registration or lending processes and the extent of any property-related losses.
