Jalandhar Improvement Trust chief lodges FIR against MC ex-president for fraud sale deeds

JALANDHAR: The Jalandhar Improvement Trust chairman has lodged an FIR against former Sultanpur Lodhi Municipal Committee president Dinesh Dhir and others, alleging that they got sale deeds registered fraudulently in Latifpura locality.

The case has been registered for cheating, conspiracy and under Registration Act. In his complaint, trust chairman Jagtar Singh Sanghera alleged that Dhir got the sale registered of land acquired by Trust in his name, in the names of his family members and others. Police have named six accused in the case, while others are unidentified. According to the complaint, Dhir got 10 sale sale deeds registered from 2006 to 2013 without mentioning the Khasra numbers, while these numbers were in the name of JIT.

Sanghera sent his complaint to the commissioner of police on January 13, after which the police sought opinion of the district attorney legal, who sought clarification on a few points. The DA also recommended that other names which would come up during further investigations should also be included in the case.

The case has been registered under Sections 420 and 120 B of IPC and Section 82 of Registration Act 1908, which pertains to giving false statements during registration of sale deeds. Other who have been named in the case include Rakesh Kumar, Lakhwinder Singh and Ramesh Dhir, “along with their family members”.

“Dhir got sale deeds for 92 marlas registered. He and another family got 60% of the Latifpura land while remaining was with rest of the families,” Sanghera told TOI on Thursday evening. Earlier in the day, AAP’s Deepak Bali, who had attended the meeting between the administration and Latifpura Murr Waseba (rehabilitation) Committee, posted on his Facebook, “At the meeting, we came to now that a man (Dhir) who owns seven (rice) shellers and five houses, was stopping the homeless families from accepting the government’s offer of flats.” He later deleted the post.

When asked, Dhir said that he had presented all the sale deeds in the court and sought demarcation of the land. “I am part of AAP and not at all against the state government,” he said. He denied Bali’s claims about count of his shellers and houses, and about influencing the oustees. The oustees also denied that they were under any pressure from Dhir. “Our elders settled here after migrating from Pakistan during Partition . Most of us were born and brought up here. It is a collective decision of the families to reject the trust’s offer of flats at Bibi Bhani Complex and we are firm on our demand. Dhir has nothing to do with our decision,” said Gurbax Singh, one of the oustees.

“This allegation that oustees have been influenced by Dhir is an attempt to distract and push another narrative. We are not bothered what happens to Dhir and our fight is for the families who settled here after Partition,” said Kashmir Singh Ghugshor, a member of the rehabilitation committee.

Later in the day, AAP MLA Sheetal Angural also visited Latifpura and met the oustees.