Illegal land grab: Record attendant of Goa archives department arrested by SIT

So far, the police have arrested two other men, Vikrant Shetty from Margao and Mohammed Shafi, who they had described as “the alleged kingpin”. A court in Mapusa released Shetty on bail on Friday.

According to the police, Naik had taken records out of the department and given them to the co-accused, who would then forge the documents. The police said that Naik had taken out at least three books after which the notary deeds in them were forged and the books were then placed back in the department. Naik faces charges of theft and criminal conspiracy, the police said.

The police added that the accused would scout for lands that were not frequently visited by their owners, forge their land records and transfer it to their own names or that of their friends and then sell the land to interested parties of which some were buyers from outside Goa. About 60-70 such plots of land were sold by the accused and the value of these properties is being assessed, the police said.