POLICE COMPLAINT AUTHORITY DIRECTS REGISTRATION OF FIR AGAINST LAMBARDAR AND TENANTS
Face2News/Chandigarh
Misusing the powers granted by the District Magistrate, Burail village lambardar Gulab Singh sold the same house twice within two months, despite being aware of the real owner. The Police Complaint Authority (PCA) has now issued directions to register an FIR against the lambardar and two women tenants, along with three others involved in the fraud.Giving details of the matter, Advocate Jitender Malik said that the victim, Siddharth Rana, had purchased a house from Charanjit Singh, a resident of village Burail, in 2015, and the sale deed had been duly registered. The house was located within the lal dora (village abadi) area. Two tenants,
Radha and Sana, were living there with their families.Radha had filed a case against Charanjit Singh, claiming that she was his wife and the mother of his children, and thus was entitled to a share in the property. However, due to lack of evidence, her case was dismissed by both the lower court and the sessions court. During the court proceedings, lambardar Gulab Singh testified that Charanjit Singh had already sold the house to Siddharth Rana and that the sale deed was duly registered in his name.Some time later, Charanjit Singh passed away.
Meanwhile, both tenants refused to vacate the house unless they were paid money. In 2021, Radha attempted to sell the house to a man named Ashok and even took an advance payment (bayana). When Siddharth Rana learned of this, he lodged a complaint with the police. Radha then submitted a written statement to the police admitting her mistake and returned the advance money to Ashok.However, Radha did not stop her fraudulent activities.
Later in September 2021, she colluded with lambardar Gulab Singh and sold the same house to a man named Tejveer Singh Saini, after which she vacated the property. Subsequently, in September 2024, Tejveer Singh Saini sold the same house to Sana. Lambardar Gulab Singh executed and registered the sale deed first in the name of Tejveer Singh Saini in 2021 and again in the name of Sana in 2024.Advocate Jitender Malik alleged that during this entire period, the Burail police deliberately kept Siddharth Rana’s complaint pending and later stated that it was a civil dispute.
When Siddharth Rana discovered the full extent of the fraud in December last year, he again lodged a complaint with the police, but they kept avoiding action. Frustrated, he finally approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the PCA, Sector 9, Chandigarh, in March this year. Eventually, the PCA directed the concerned police station to register an FIR against lambardar Gulab Singh, Radha, her son Vikram, and Sana under the relevant sections of law.
Advocate Malik said that more cases against lambardar Gulab Singh are now coming to light, and he will soon make further revelations regarding these matters
Chandigarh Police gave contradictory responses to NHRC and PCA
Advocate Malik further stated that when he submitted complaints to both NHRC and PCA on behalf of his client, both agencies sought responses from the Chandigarh Police. In April, the police informed the NHRC that the complainant had joined the investigation and further proceedings were underway. However, in June, the same police told the PCA that the complainant had not yet joined the investigation.