Four bank employees held in Rs 5 crore land fraud case in Surat

Officials of the Surat Economic Offence Wing said all five people were apprehended after the arrest of a real estate broker, one Ravi Koladiya from Surat.

Police sources said Koladiya, who lives in Kapodara, executed a sale deed for agricultural land bearing block no. 490, 480, 481, with an area of 11.80 bigah at Kathor village in Surat, on behalf of one Piyushkumar Saspara, another Kapodara resident, at Rs 5.75 crore. The sale deed was executed through the power of attorney. The landowners were identified as Salim Sidat, his sisters, Faridabibi Sidat and Khatija Sidat, all residents of Kathor and currently settled in Canada. Saspara had made a payment of Rs. 4.81 crores through cheques and the remaining through cash to the Koladiya in 2025.

Police said Koladiya conspired with the Yes Bank employees in Ankleshwar and opened three mule bank accounts in the names of Salim, Kathija, and Farida, using fake documents, and had deposited cheques received from land buyer Saspara. When the bank accounts of the trio were opened, they were in Canada and not in Ankleshwar and he forged signatures of all three landowners, while opening the bank accounts.

Koladiya had withdrawn Rs. 2.80 crores and sent it to the landowners residing in Canada. With the same modus operandi, he opened another three bank accounts on behalf of the landowners by forging their signatures, at IDBI Bank’s at Ghoddod Road branch in Surat, and deposited the remaining Rs. 2.96 crore in them. After some time, he withdrew the amount from the bank.

Saspara had lodged a complaint of cheating against Koladiya after he failed to prepare the final sale deed documents of the land. Saspara had further complained that he had made a deal for three blocks of agricultural land for Rs 13.27 crores, out of which he had paid a part payment of Rs 5.75 crores to Koladiya.

Surat city additional commissioner of police Karanraj Vaghela said, “It was for the first time that in a land fraud case we have arrested four bank employees. We have also arrested phone SIM card seller Sanjay Dhandhukiya, who had issued a SIM card that was used to open the bank accounts.”

Attempts to reach out to the officials in charge of both the bank’s branches for their comments on the development went in vain.