Delhi property scam: Mother and son arrested along with mastermind

New Delhi: A 70-year-old woman and her son were arrested along with another man in connection with Rs 1.85 crore property scam, police said on Thursday.

The accused were involved in forging property documents and selling a flat in Dwarka after the death of its rightful owner, they said.

The incident came to light when the complainant, the owner's brother-in-law, reported that unknown individuals had forged documents for the property and sold it for Rs 1.85 crore to a buyer.

The complainant's brother-in-law had passed away in 2023 and his sister had died in 2019. With no heirs to the property, someone exploited the situation, police said.

"An FIR was registered at the Dwarka South Police Station and further investigation was taken up. The investigation revealed that one Sarabjeet Singh, the son of the 70-year-old accused, had received large sums from the fraudulent property sale. He was arrested in October," said a senior police officer.

"During interrogation, Sarabjeet disclosed that Pawandeep Singh, a property dealer is the mastermind and had orchestrated the scam. Pawandeep forged property documents in the name of Sarabjeet's mother to avoid suspicion," he added.

After Sarabjeet's arrest, his mother went into hiding. She was declared a proclaimed offender by the court but was arrested on December 9, police said.

The mastermind Pawandeep was traced from Himachal Pradesh and apprehended, they said.

"He was previously arrested in a 2008 murder case. He admitted during his interrogation that he learned about forging property documents while in jail. In this case, he became aware of the death of the rightful owner of the Dwarka property and conspired to sell it," the police officer said.