The Central Crime Branch of the Greater Chennai City Police has busted a gang that allegedly targeted unclaimed or vacant plots in various parts of the city. According to the police, the accused fraudulently obtained loans using forged documents related to these lands, without the knowledge of the actual property owners.
The gang identified properties that had seen no transactions registered with the Registration Department for over 25 years. In one such case, they forged a sale agreement for a piece of land worth crores in Chennai, the police said.
Tarachand, a businessman from Alwarpet, owns a property measuring 3,662 square feet, with a building covering 1,262 square feet, which was registered in the name of his 80-year-old mother Rukmani. Several tenants had been residing at the property for a long time, and Rukmani passed away in 2019. Last year, as Tarachand was preparing to apply for a loan, he was shocked to find a notice affixed to the door of the property, stating that it had been sold off due to the non-repayment of a âč3.03-crore loan.
He lodged a complaint with the Land Fraud Investigation Wing of the Central Crime Branch. Police investigations revealed that after the death of the original titleholder Rukmani in 2019, the gang deployed a woman who impersonated her, claiming to be the rightful owner. In 2020, they fraudulently registered a power of attorney in the name of one T.S. Rajasekar, as though it had been authorised by Rukmani herself.
Subsequently, the gang executed a sale deed in favour of two individuals â Jayaraman and his wife Kalaiselvi from Kallakurichi, who claimed to be rice mill owners. They then mortgaged the property documents with a private bank in Salem to obtain a loan of âč3.03 crore, despite the property being located in Mylapore, Chennai.
A senior police officer said: âWe suspect that at least 10 persons were part of the fraud. They deployed an impersonator and forged documents. They also engaged other impersonators from Kallakurichi who pretended to be genuine buyers. Through the seller, the gang purchased a loan by submitting forged documents from the private bank in Salem, and they even paid the EMI for a couple of months. Later, they failed to repay the loan amount. All their mobile phones were switched off, and the identity details given by the applicants were fake.â
After a thorough investigation, the police nabbed Kalaiselvi, 60, two months ago. Her husband Jayaraman had died. Sridhar, 60, and his son Prasasanth, who were allegedly involved in the racket, were also nabbed.
City Police Commissioner A. Arun ordered further investigation into the case, which led to the arrest of two key suspects â namely T.S. Rajasekar alias Kiran Raj, 47, of Dr. Ambedkar Street, Kodungaiyur, and Kumar, 43, of Sampakulam, Madurai â last week. Fake documents, a laptop, and mobile phones were seized from them.
Similar frauds
Scrutinising their WhatsApp calls and bank transactions, the police found that the duo had committed similar frauds involving a few others, who are yet to be traced. The police found they had defrauded another person named Shiyas Pudhuveetil and his wife Hasini, who are non-resident Indians (NRI) living in UAE.
The gang also targeted a 9,000-square feet land belonging to Ramesh Ulla and Bharathi Ulla, who are residents of Seashore Town Modern Layout in Sholinganallur. Though the couple is alive, the accused forged a legal heir certificate claiming they were dead.
Based on the forged legal certificates and other documents, they deployed a woman named Saraswathi, who claimed to be the rightful owner of the property, and readied the sale deed. The gang also got a âč5-crore loan sanctioned by a prominent bank in the name of the couple and transferred the amount to the fraudstersâ account. Only later did the couple realise that they were cheated.
Another senior police officer said the investigation also unearthed the role of certain bank staffers. In some cases, the KYC details of the loan applicants were fake. Further investigation is on to trace the others involved in the fraud.
Published â August 02, 2025 03:57 pm IST
