UT police have arrested family members of a washerman and their accomplices for fraudulently occupying a 12-marla property belonging to an 82-year-old NRI woman in Sector 36.
The arrested individuals include Lal Bihari (washerman), aged 53, his wife Radha Rani, 51, and their children Pooja, 24, Shiva, 22, and Suraj Kumar, 26. Additionally, Ranjit Kaur, 47, a resident of Sector 40, and Ashok Kumar, 48, who helped facilitate the illegal occupation through forged documents, have also been apprehended. Police have obtained a two-day remand for Kumar, while the rest have been sent to judicial custody.
Investigation revealed that the washerman’s family had been conspiring to take over the property using a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) likely to be submitted at the Estate Office.
The complaint was lodged by Chander Mohini Sharma, an NRI woman who owns the property. Pavan Sharma, the complainant’s son, discovered the trespass in 2022 and reported the matter to the police.
As per the investigation, Lal Bihari had set up a temporary tent in front of the house, where he worked as a washerman and ironed clothes. The accused targeted the property because the owner had been living abroad for eight years, making it less monitored and more vulnerable to illegal occupation. They had allegedly trespassed by breaking the locks and initially used to move their belongings into the property every evening and remove them by morning to avoid immediate detection.
It further revealed that to solidify their illegal occupancy, the accused created forged documents, including a General Power of Attorney (GPA) purportedly from the owner, Chander Mohini Sharma, falsely claiming that Ashok Kumar had legal rights over the property. This fraudulent GPA was presented at the Estate Office in Chandigarh.
Using the forged documents, the accused obtained electricity and water connections, Aadhar cards, PAN cards, Registration Certificate and Driving Licence for the property.
They misled neighbours and local authorities by presenting themselves as caretakers and engaged in quarrelsome behavior to intimidate and prevent interference. They also falsely claimed to be relatives of former Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal and the DSP of Chandigarh. The court of judicial magistrate first class, Parmod Kumar, directed the registration of an FIR against the accused for criminal trespass, forgery, and conspiracy.
The court instructed the SHO of Sector-36 police station to register an FIR under relevant sections of the IPC, including 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault, or wrongful restraint), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc.), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).
Police have recovered fake documents related to the property, including a fake GPA, residential proofs (Aadhar card, PAN card, RC, DL, electricity connection), and three vehicles registered to the said property.
