Mohammad Suhail, alias Michael, a 48-year-old resident of Pilar, Goa—originally from Davangiri, Karnataka—was arrested by the Crime Branch near a petrol pump in Quepem on June 20. Suhail, who had been absconding for nearly two years, is considered one of Goa’s most notorious land grab masterminds.
A habitual offender, Suhail faces at least 13 criminal cases registered between 2012 and 2023 at multiple police stations, including the Special Investigation Team (SIT), Economic Offences Cell (EOC), Mapusa, and Porvorim.
According to investigators, Suhail and his network systematically targeted unattended or disputed properties—particularly those whose rightful owners were deceased or living abroad. Using forged documents and impersonating owners, the group executed fraudulent sale deeds. In some instances, they reportedly colluded with officials from the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology to manipulate historical property records.
The SIT investigation revealed that Suhail was involved in forging documents for over 93 properties, and had illegally sold at least 15 properties using these forgeries. The Commission of Inquiry led by retired Justice V.K. Jadhav uncovered widespread tampering of government records, including the insertion of fake sale deeds mimicking Portuguese-era handwriting and formats to evade detection.
Suhail’s arrest is being seen as a major breakthrough in the crackdown on Goa’s deep-rooted land scam networks.