The Dehradun Police have apprehended Congress councillor Amit Bhandari, also known as Deepu, for his involvement in an alleged organized land fraud scheme in the city. Bhandari and his accomplices are accused of deceiving multiple individuals by offering to sell them land through falsified documents. Earlier, the authorities had captured the main suspect, fraudster Pradeep Saklani, along with his associate Ajay Sajwan, in connection with the same fraudulent activities. Subsequently, Bhandari was also taken into custody.
According to officials, a case was filed against the accused last October, alleging that they defrauded a person of Rs 30 lakh. Records indicate that Saklani has been named in 27 FIRs related to various fraud and cheating incidents. SP City Pramod Kumar mentioned that during interrogation, Saklani disclosed the identities of several individuals associated with the fraudulent network, leading to intensified questioning by special police teams.
Further investigations unveiled that the suspects had forged ownership documents for a plot of land in Dehradun owned by an elderly woman residing in Maharashtra. The accused also fabricated fake death certificates for the woman’s two sons to make fraudulent ownership claims over the property. Using these falsified papers, they reportedly sold the same land to three different buyers, defrauding multiple victims. Officials confirmed that Bhandari was arrested after substantial evidence of his involvement in the fraud case (Case No. 82/26) surfaced.
Authorities mentioned that some other suspects interrogated in the case were released to their families due to insufficient evidence against them. Nevertheless, they have been instructed to cooperate with the investigation when necessary. It is anticipated that the police will request Police Custody Remand (PCR) for the main suspect, Pradeep Saklani, to delve deeper into the broader network and uncover additional details related to the alleged land scam.
