ASMITA POLJI
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SANGOLDA: In yet another case of land grabbing, the relatives of a Sangolda resident who died back in 1976 have allegedly taken over three of his properties by falsifying power of attorney, leaving his true legal heirs befuddled and struggling to get justice. Narrating the bizarre story that involves impersonation, identity theft, forgery of documents, and even the ‘resurrection’ of the original owner, late Diogo Joao De Sa, to sign the Power of Attorney (PoA) 24 years after his death, complainant Keith Ferreira told Herald that one of the properties grabbed has even been sold by the culprits, and yet, no action has been taken.
The properties located at Sangolda in Survey Nos 73/32, 73/33 and 79/20, were originally owned by Diogo Joao De Sa, son of Pio De Sa.
The late Diogo De Sa had more than 15 legal heirs, with claims over his properties, but his brother Jeronimo Luis De Sa’s daughter Margarida (Maggie) D’Souza and her family allegedly impersonated the legal heirs of Diogo De Sa, furnished a person as a ‘mundkar’, and managed to sell one of the plots.
Margarida and her sons Craspin D’Souza and John D’Souza and daughter-in-law Janice D’Souza, allegedly used the fraudulent PoA and signed affidavits and legal documents in the Mapusa Mamlatdar court to sell the property 73/33, keeping the legal heirs of De Sa in the dark, according to Ferreira.
“De Sa, who expired at the age of 95 on 27/08/1976, was brought alive, after 24 years of his death, in the year 2000, and was supposed to have signed the power of attorney stating that due to his domestic and personal reasons, he was not in the position to look after and manage his day-to-day affairs,” said Ferreira, the complainant, and De Sa’s grandson-in-law.
The PoA said that it was necessary to appoint some fit and proper person to make decisions in matters related to these properties and that in his absence, he empowers Margarida D’Souza as a true and lawful attorney. The falsified document was reportedly produced before the office of the mamlatdar during the mutation process, claiming that there are no legal heirs to Diogo De Sa.
While preparing this fraudulent PoA, De Sa was portrayed as a bachelor, when in reality he was married with five children.
The complainants Keith Ferreira, his wife Michelle Ferreira, and their 91-year-old mother Flory De Sa, who belong to one of the branches of the legal heirs of the property, filed a complaint with the Special Investigation Team in June 2022 after several complaints to local police were of no avail. “We have been knocking on the doors of the Saligao Police and the Deputy Superintendent of Police- North since August 2021. I have even filed a criminal complaint of 156 before the Mapusa Court for the police to take action against the culprits, but there was no action taken,” said Ferreira.
The culprits, meanwhile, have gone to the extent of informing the illegal mundkar staying on the property 73/33, who, along with his neighbours allegedly threatened the complainants with dire consequences. The Ferreiras have also informed the Saligao Police and the DySP North of the threats, in a separate complaint.
Frustrated with the long road to justice, Keith Ferreira said, “After what we have been through, we request all authorities, especially the police and SIT to seriously look at all complaints received and act on time, and for the Civil authorities related to land titles and transfer of lands to be vigilant on the authenticity of all documents submitted to them. Save us Goans the time in years spent running around, finding out who did what to take away our rights to the property. People in Goa must now be wary of internal family frauds and fraudsters must be taught a lesson”.
