Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested two brothers accused of trying to illegally claim ownership of the land where the official residence of Moradabad's Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) stands. Investigators allege the accused, along with several associates, prepared forged documents, misrepresented ownership to authorities, and attempted to establish legal rights over what is actually government property. Even more striking — police claim the accused collected over ₹28.45 lakh in rent over nearly two decades by falsely posing as the property's rightful owners.
Who's Been Arrested
The accused have been identified as Sudhir Kumar Dhawan and his brother Sunil Kumar Dhawan, both residents of Ballabh Mohalla, Mandi Chowk, under the Kotwali police station area. Civil Lines Police arrested them on Wednesday night, and they were remanded to judicial custody on Thursday. Police say they're still working to trace the other named accused — Sumit Dhawan, Ankit Dhawan, Sudha Tandon, Vipin Kumar Dhawan, and Beena Talwar, a Delhi resident from Shalimar Bagh.
How the Case Came to Light
The FIR was registered at Civil Lines Police Station on July 11, based on a complaint filed by Sub-Inspector Harendra Singh, covering charges of cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy, among other offences. The case emerged after an administrative inquiry flagged irregularities in the documents submitted to back the ownership claim over the government land.
Nearly Two Decades of Collected Rent
According to investigators, the accused allegedly misled both police and courts by presenting fabricated ownership records to claim legal rights over the land occupied by the SSP's residence. What's particularly striking is the scale of it — officials found that the accused had allegedly been collecting rent from the property for around 19 years, projecting themselves as the legitimate owners the entire time, and pocketing over ₹28.45 lakh in the process. Investigators are now going through bookkeeping services in India-style scrutiny of financial records and tenancy documents to figure out the full extent of the alleged fraud — essentially reconstructing years of rent collection and payment history to understand exactly how much money changed hands and when.
Not the Only Property in Question
Police revealed that the accused are also under investigation in a separate case involving another disputed property known locally as Chadha Kothi, where similar allegations of forged ownership documents have surfaced. Investigators believe both cases together might point to a broader, repeated pattern of land fraud involving fabricated records and false ownership claims.
The Land's Actual History
A four-member committee set up by the Divisional Commissioner dug into the property's records and found that the disputed land was originally part of Gata No. 455-A in Village Chhawani during British administration, officially designated as government land meant for IPS officers' residences. It was later renumbered as Gata No. 1348-F during land settlement proceedings. The SSP's official residence has stood on this land for years, and government revenue records still classify it as public property.
The inquiry also found no credible evidence explaining how the woman the accused claimed to have acquired the property from had actually obtained legal ownership in the first place. Despite this gap, investigators allege forged documents were created and used anyway to support the ownership claim — documents that are now undergoing forensic and legal examination.
A Pattern of Similar Disputes?
Police also noted that this isn't the first time the accused have faced legal action over property disputes. Inderjit Singh Chadha of the Chadha Group had earlier filed a complaint against them over a different property matter, and businessman Umesh Chandra, a resident of Awas Vikas Colony, registered a separate case against them back in 2024. Investigators are now checking whether these various cases share common patterns pointing to a recurring scheme of fraudulent land transactions.
The investigation remains ongoing, with police examining revenue records, registration documents, financial transactions, and court filings to establish the full conspiracy and each accused's role. More arrests are expected as the probe continues.
FAQs
Q1. How much rent did the accused allegedly collect illegally?
Police allege the accused collected more than ₹28.45 lakh in rent over approximately 19 years by falsely claiming ownership of the government property.
Q2. Whose official residence is built on the disputed land?
The disputed land houses the official residence of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Moradabad and is officially classified as government property.
Q3. Are the accused linked to any other property fraud cases?
Yes, the accused are also under investigation in a separate case involving forged ownership claims over another property called Chadha Kothi, and have faced prior legal complaints over other property disputes.