Bhubaneswar: The Mancheswar police Wednesday arrested two brothers for allegedly defrauding a land buyer of Rs 1.14 crore by attempting to sell a property near Gadakana that had already been sold years ago by their ancestors. The accused, Krushna Chandra Behera (57) and Ramesh Chandra Behera (50), returned Rs 23 lakh of the total amount after the victim lodged a complaint, said Inspector-in-Charge (IIC) Mrutyunjay Swain.
According to police, the incident dates back to early 2022 when complainant Sukanta Sahoo came in contact with the Behera brothers while looking to purchase land in the Gadakana area. As an initial payment, he handed over Rs 24 lakh in cash to the duo. Soon after, they produced a forged sale deed and convinced him to pay another Rs 94 lakh in December 2022.
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However, suspicions arose when the brothers repeatedly delayed the registration of the property in Sukanta’s name. In early 2023, when Sukanta attempted to mark boundaries on the land, he was confronted by Sachikant Routray, who claimed to be the original owner. Upon verifying the property documents, Sukanta discovered that the land had been legally sold to Routray by the Behera brothers’ ancestor, Gandharba Behera, years ago. When Sukanta confronted Krushna Chandra Behera, the latter feigned ignorance and went incommunicado. Left with no option, Sukanta fi led a complaint with Mancheswar police. Based on the investigation, police booked Krushna and Ramesh Chandra Behera under Sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security), 468 (forgery for cheating), 506 (criminal intimidation), and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. The accused were produced before a local court Tuesday.
