Power of attorney scandal unearthed

Shahdol, MP, Aug 1 (UNI) The sale of a woman's New Delhi plot on the basis of power of attorney without her knowledge has opened a pandora's box unravelling a major scandal in registering a record number of 1,122 power of attorneys in the small town of Anuppur in Madhya Pradesh in six months.

Pushprajgarh Tahsildar R G Marco was suspended yesterday after the scandal broke out, Anuppur Collector K K Khare said.

Police and administrative teams have been sent to Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad.

A Delhi resident, Ms Anandi Devi, lodged a complaint with the Collector recently after she came to know that a plot of land in her name had already been sold on the basis of a power of attorney.

Mr Khare said as many as 398 power of attorneys relating to Delhi, 455 of Gurgaon and 269 of Faridabad had been fraudulently registered by the Tahsildar in collusion with other employees between July and December last year.

He said in many cases, owners of immovable properties were unaware of the fact that power of attorneys had been registered in their name, while there were instances of preparing such documents to evade taxes.

Detailed invesigations were underway in the matter, Mr Khare added.

UNI XC-PS-SP 1604