GERARD DE SOUZA
PANJIM: Land scams are not new to the State. And with a large number of Goans now part of the expatriate community and those left behind blinded by the greed of a few lakhs, Goa has become free for all as far as sale and land grabbing goes.
Moses Fernandes from Vasvaddo Benaulim has been accused of selling property of an expatriate Goan. Now there is evidence. Herald has come across two more cases, one in Porvorim ~ the neighbourhood of Dr Otilia Mascarenhas ~ and another in Moica Vaddo, Pilerne.
In both cases, Moses acquired power of attorney of people who owned the property and who were dead.
In the first case Moses, acting on the power of attorney of one Francis Anselm D’Souza sold land in Porvorim to one Estevan D’Souza and Abdul Aziz Khan for Rs 30 lakh. The sale deed was registered at the Mapusa sub-registrar’s office on September 25, 2013. The property is located in survey No. 372/2 in Socorro in Bardez and is 1550 sq mts.
However, Francis Anselm D’Souza who allegedly gave his power of attorney to Moses died in April 2013 and his wife Dr Sandra deSa Souza ~ who is an eminent surgeon consulting at Breach Candy and Jaslok Hospitals in Mumbai ~ has written to the Mamlatdar office at Mapusa objecting to any mutation being carried out on her property.
In the sale deed it has been claimed that Francis Anselm D’Souza was unmarried, 55 years old and resides at Malabar Hills in Mumbai.
The power of attorney in question was executed on August 20, last year before Notary Advocate Kishore Fegro under No. 5278/7
The case is still pending before the revenue officials.
In the second case, Moses successfully got a power of attorney of a man who died in 1976 leaving behind no heirs. The sale deed executed on January 15, 2014 (barely 15 days back) Moses claims he has the power of attorney of Mr Expectação Francis Baptista D’Souza unmarried, and resident of Peri Road, Bandra West Mumbai.
Neighbours of the deceased ~ who did not wish to be identified ~ told Herald that he died close to four decades and even produced his death certificate. Moses instead has claimed that “one Expectação D’Souza son of Mr Expectação Francis Baptista D’Souza granted him the power of attorney”. Neighbours instead claim that Expectação died single.
The property which is 94 sq mts at Moica Vaddo, Pilerne and surveyed under survey No. 44/2 of the village panchayat of Pilerne also has the name of Estevan D’Souza (one of the buyer of DeSa Souza property in Porvorim, sold by Moses) already entered on Form I & XIV.
Another property holder who is living in Mumbai but has ancestral property in Pilerne has been informed by neighbours that brokers have been coming and showing potential buyers his property. Fortunately for him, no sale deed has been registered by a third party to sell his land.
Adv Amit Palekar who is representing Moses in Dr Otilia Mascarenhas case, said that he is not representing him in these two cases mentioned above or other cases or other dealings done by him.
He was at pains to explain that he is only representing Moses. “The impression is being given that I am involved with him. I am only his lawyer and have no role to play in his dealings or even in drafting of the sale deeds. I am only representing him in a criminal case,” Adv Amit Palekar said.
Efforts to trace Moses Fernandes, Estevan D’Souza and others who have allegedly conspired fraudulently sell land, to elicit a comment, have been unfruitful.
