Rs 25 lakh bribe case: Police to seek original documents from Land Records Department; causing loss by issuing wrong C-copy
Pune: An offence has been registered against the Land Records Department’s Deputy Superintendent Amarsinh Patil and Surveyor Kiran Yetale for issuing a wrong (certified) C-copy and causing a big loss to a land owner for not giving Rs 25 lakh bribe. The police will now demand all documents related to the case from the Land Records Department.
A direct complaint was lodged with Revenue Minister Chandrakant Bawankule in this regard. He looked into the case and directed an inquiry into it. Later, it is said that the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) conducted a preliminary inquiry and accepted the land owner’s complaint and booked the two officials. The incident revealed how farmers and land owners are harassed by officials for land measurement.
Kunal Ashtekar got his authorised land measurement done to fix the boundaries of the property in Hadapsar. The Land Record Department’s Deputy Superintendent Amarsinh Patil initially demanded Rs 50 lakh to fix the boundaries of the property. Surveyor Kiran Yetale told Ashtekar that a concession would be given and demanded Rs 25 lakh bribe. He also threatened that Patil would hit a ‘helicopter shot’ if the bribe is not paid.
The complainant was issued a wrong C-copy of his land because he did not pay the bribe. This caused a big loss to him. A case was registered at the Yerwada Police Station in this connection. ACP (EOW) Machchindra Khade is investigating the matter.
ACP Khade said, “The complaint has been lodged by the complainant. We have sought all related documents from him. We will also seek documents from the Land Records Department. We will send a letter to the department today. Further action will be taken after examining all documents.”
The Land Records Department has provided all facilities online purportedly to reduce interference by officials and employees. However, some officials intentionally feed wrong data into the computer. Though C-copy is procured online, data needed to prepare it is fed only after taking a bribe. Therefore, it is said that the online facilities are only there for namesake.
