'Landlord' couple cheat property purchasers of crores

Suspects created fake land documents

Police have arrested a couple and two others for cheating prospective site buyers by creating fake property documents. The couple’s three children and some relatives who are also suspected to be involved in the racket are absconding, police said.

Ramamurthy and his wife Sumithra, who live in Rajajinagar, 2nd Block, would identify people who wanted to buy sites in certain localities. They would zero in on certain pieces of land in the localities where buyers would be interested. Meantime, their accomplices — Ramesh, a resident of Sunkadakatte, and Ananth Achar, from Baiyappanahalli — would forge the seals of deputy commissioner, sub-registrar and tahsildar. This way, they would prepare all the “necessary property documents”.

They would then strike a deal with the buyers and insist that they make the payment before the registration.

Once the buyers made the payment, they would just disappear. If the victims demanded their money back, the couple would first seek time but intimidate them later. Sumithra would even threaten to make rape complaints against them.

T Krishna, a resident of Rajajinagar, wanted to buy about three acres of land in and around Bengaluru three years ago. A friend, Manjunath, introduced him to Sumithra and said she owned many properties. She told him about a 1.3-acre plot of land at Kogidehalli and about 1.10 acres of land at Bailakunahalli. In 2012, the parties agreed at Rs 1.7 crore as the price of the land. Krishna paid the money in two instalments.

But when the couple delayed registration of the property, Krishna grew suspicious. He procured copies of the original documents of the property from the authorities concerned and realised that he had been duped.

Backtracked
He confronted the couple and demanded his money back. The couple promised to repay but backtracked and even threatened him. Krishna then approached the City police commissioner who directed the Rajajinagar police inspector to investigate the case.

The Rajajinagar police raided the office and house of the couple and seized fake seals of deputy commissioner, tahsildar and sub-registrar. The couple’s children — Hemavathi, Sunitha and Gaurish — and relatives Honnesh, Ravi and Chikkathayamma are absconding, police said.

Anyone who has been cheated by the couple can call 9480801301, 9480801316.