Akola farmland fraud: EOW arrests two after alleged forged Aadhaar land sale

The Economic Offences Wing of Akola police arrested Gopal Agarwal and Shivshankar Parihar over an alleged attempt to sell farmland using forged documents. Police said Parihar posed as landowner Arvind Dethe and produced an Aadhaar card. A UIDAI fingerprint mismatch during registration triggered suspicion, after which the buyer contacted the real owner.

Akola police said the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) arrested two men for allegedly trying to sell farmland with fake papers. Officials said the deal involved land in the Nimkarda area of Balapur Taluka. The arrests followed a complaint from the real owner, Arvind Dethe. Police said the case involved forgery and cheating.

Police said a family from outside Akola district negotiated the purchase with two men. Officials identified them as Gopal Agarwal and Shivshankar Parihar. Inspector Anil Jumle from EOW said Parihar allegedly posed as Arvind Dethe. Police said Parihar also showed an Aadhaar card during the process.

Akola police EOW case: Fingerprint mismatch during registration

Inspector Anil Jumle said the sale agreement was registered at the sub-registrar’s office in Balapur on June 24. During registration, the fingerprints of the claimed owner did not match Aadhaar records. Police said the records were maintained by the Unique Identification Authority of India UIDAI. Officials said the registration then used a thumb impression with ink.

After the registration, police said the buyer gave two cheques to the accused. Officials put the amounts at Rs 6 lakh and Rs 5 lakh. Police said the buyer became doubtful after the mismatch episode. Officials said the buyer later heard that the owner did not look like Dethe.

Akola police EOW arrests: Buyer contacts Arvind Dethe

Police said the buyer managed to speak with Arvind Dethe after making enquiries. Officials said Dethe confirmed that the transaction was fraudulent. After Dethe filed a complaint, police arrested Agarwal and Parihar the same day. Inspector Anil Jumle said the two were booked for forgery and cheating.

Police said a court sent the two accused to police custody till June 28. Officials said the investigation is based on the complaint and the registration events. Dethe questioned how the process moved ahead after the biometric mismatch. "Why did the government department fail to prevent the fraud in the first place?\" Dethe asked.

With inputs from PTI