Elderly farmer's 10 bighas fraudulently sold through forged deed in Kanpur

A major land fraud case has surfaced in the Sadar tehsil area of Kanpur, where several bighas of land belonging to an elderly farmer were illegally transferred through a forged sale deed without the knowledge of the original owner. The case has drawn attention because of an unusual pattern that emerged during the police investigation: a woman named Rachna Gupta was shown as the accused seller of the land in the fraudulent deed, while her own husband, Ritesh Gupta, appeared as a witness to the same transaction.

The incident came to light when the victim discovered that his property in village Khatukheda Bidhnu had been transferred fraudulently. The shock deepened when he learned that his land, spanning approximately 10 bighas, had been registered in someone else's name through fabricated documents executed at the court.

According to details that have emerged, the victim is an 80-year-old man named Shivkali, who was illiterate and vulnerable due to his advanced age. The accused, identified as Ritesh Gupta, Dharmvir, and Anuruddh Yadav, approached him on the pretext of helping him get a colony developed on his land. Taking advantage of his inability to read or write, they took him to court and had him place his thumb impression on documents. Instead of the colony papers he believed he was signing, the thumb impression was used to execute a sale deed for the entire 10 bighas of land in Khatukheda village.

The original owner of the land is identified as K K Yadav. Several years passed before he discovered that his entire property had been transferred to another person without his consent or knowledge. During this time, the accused gang had prepared forged documents in the name of Rachna Gupta, using papers falsely attributed to an elderly woman named Bhagwati, a resident of Panki, and completed the registry of the land.

The police investigation into this Bidhnu case has revealed a unique partnership between husband and wife in executing the fraud. While Rachna Gupta was shown as the owner and seller of the land in the forged deed, her husband Ritesh Gupta participated in the same deed as a witness. The amount shown as the sale consideration in the deed never reached the account of the victim, confirming that the entire operation was a conspiracy to grab land through fabricated and forged documents.

Following a complaint lodged by the victim K K Yadav, a case was registered at Bidhnu police station on the orders of the DCP South. The report was filed against four named accused and five unknown persons under sections related to fraud, forgery, and cheating. However, the victim K K Yadav has expressed dissatisfaction with the investigation. He has alleged that while Rachna Gupta was made an accused, her husband Ritesh Gupta's name was included only as a witness, and the names of other accused persons were removed from the case. The victim has also claimed that despite providing all evidence to the investigating officer, no proper action has been taken. He has stated that he will soon meet the Kanpur Police Commissioner to request a fresh investigation into the matter, as the original probe had also revealed complicity of employees from the revenue department in the fraud.