teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday announced the appointment of a special investigating officer at the Crime Branch to fast track the probe into the alleged case of ‘land mafia syndicate’ usurping land as alleged by State’s first Arjuna Award winner Dr Otilia Mascarenhas.
Not ruling out the involvement of lawyers in the entire land scam, who would be supporting and defending such sellers and buyers, he asserted that ‘without legal support one cannot do such large planned fraud.’ Parrikar informed that directions had been issued to Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) to register an FIR into the matter as ‘prima facie it has been revealed that serious land fraud has been committed in a well-planned manner’.
The Chief Minister, who holds the Home portfolio, has sought action taken report from police in the matter within the next two days.
Herald in its Wednesday edition had published a report on how a piece of prime property in Porvoirm that was bequeathed to Dr Mascarenhas and her brother through a will by their uncle, who died in 2002, was mysteriously sold this year, with a deceased man ‘signing the sale deed’ to sell the property to one Moises Fernandes from Benaulim for Rs 70 lakh.
Parrikar said that Dr Mascarenhas had approached him with the complaint and, accordingly, the same was forwarded to DIG for investigation. Directions were issued to file FIR after prima facie it was revealed that the matter is of serious nature.
“We have now decided to transfer the case to the Crime Branch by appointing special investigating officer to fast track the case,” he said. Chief Minister believes that this is not just one case of such nature, but there could be more cases.
Meanwhile, addressing media persons, Dr Mascarenhas questioned how a sale deed that was clearly a fraud was being given precedence over the Form I and XIV, which is in her name as well as the death certificate of her uncle, who died 11 years ago.
“I presented before them the Form I & XIV which shows the property is in my name which was done after my uncle passed. The death certificate is also with me. Still, they said that the sale deed was a legal document and as on date the possession continues to be with Moises (the alleged buyer),” she said.
Dr Mascarenhas has meanwhile called all Goans to take care of their properties. “It is not about my land alone. I believe there are at least 55 other such cases mostly along the coast, where they take over the property and start construction and when the actual owners come to know, it is already too late,” she said.
“The modus operandi of this land mafia is to pay poor people in Goan villages a sum of Rs 5,000 to source properties and dwellings which seem ‘abandoned’ or the owners are living abroad and rarely visiting the place. After the mafia has criminally acquired the property, in connivance with persons from the sub-registrar’s office,” she said.
Meanwhile, lawyers speaking to Herald said that it is surprising that this happens about two decades after the Union government – precisely to avert such bogus and ‘benami’ land transactions – amended the registration rules, to include photographs and fingerprints of all 10 digits of both hands to be affixed on the deed by all transacting parties.
Thereafter, about a decade ago, the rules were further tightened and, besides thumb prints/photos on the deed, the biometrics of transacting parties were to be taken live at the registration office at the time of executing the deed.
“When the Bardez Sub-Registrar’s office should have the biometrics and photo of the person who posed for a dead man, it
is surprising that the police are yet to get their man,” legal experts have contended.