Akola, Jun 26 (PTI) The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Akola police has arrested two persons for allegedly selling a piece of farmland using forged documents, officials said on Friday.

According to the police, a family from outside the Akola district had struck a deal with two persons, identified as Gopal Agarwal and Shivshankar Parihar, for the land.

Parihar had allegedly posed as Arvind Dethe, who actually owns the land in the Nimkarda area of Balapur Taluka, and even produced an “Aadhaar” card, said inspector Anil Jumle from EOW.

During the registration of the sale agreement at the sub-registrar’s office in Balapur on June 24, the fingerprints of the purported owner did not match the Aadhaar records maintained by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), he said.

The registration was then completed using a thumb impression in ink. Subsequently, the buyer handed over cheques worth Rs 6 lakh and Rs 5 lakh to the accused, the official said.

However, the buyer grew suspicious following the mismatch episode.

When he enquired, he was told that the owner didn’t look like Dethe. The buyer then managed to speak to the original owner, who confirmed that it was a fraud, said the official.

After receiving a complaint from Dethe, police arrested Agarwal and Parihar for forgery and cheating the same day. A court has remanded the two in police custody till June 28, he said.

Meanwhile, Dethe said he was surprised that the registration was completed despite the UIDAI system rejecting Parihar’s fingerprints. “Why did the government department fail to prevent the fraud in the first place?” he asked. PTI COR NR

Forgery and cheating in farmland sale exposed after identity mismatch and failed fingerprint verification during registration. Forgery and cheating were alleged in a farmland sale where a person purportedly posed as the recorded owner using a forged Aadhaar card and false identity particulars. Fingerprint verification did not match UIDAI records during registration, but the process was completed with a thumb impression in ink and cheques were handed over. The buyer later discovered the mismatch, contacted the genuine owner, and learnt that the transaction was fraudulent.