Goa land grab case: ED files prosecution complaint against ‘mastermind’

In a press statement, the ED said it initiated the investigation on the basis of two FIRs registered by the Goa Police on charges of forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy, involving fraudulent transfer and sale of immovable properties in Bardez taluka in North Goa.

The ED said its investigation revealed that the accused persons, led by Harmalkar, in active connivance with others, fraudulently acquired multiple immovable properties by forging documents such as wills, inventory proceedings, genealogical records and sale deeds. “These properties were then projected as untainted and sold to third-party purchasers, thereby laundering the proceeds of crime. During the course of the investigation, searches were conducted at premises linked to the accused persons under section 17(1) of PMLA, resulting in seizure of voluminous incriminating documents, digital evidence, and freezing of numerous bank accounts,” the ED said.

Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader and businessman Rohan Harmalkar was arrested by the ED on June 3 for allegedly hatching a conspiracy to illegally appropriate land through forged title deeds and selling several properties unlawfully. Harmalkar had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Goa Assembly election as an Independent candidate from the Cumbarjua constituency after he was denied a ticket by the BJP. He joined the MGP in 2024.  He was arrested after the ED carried out multiple raids on April 24 and 25 under the PMLA.

“The investigation revealed that he played a central role in orchestrating the forgery, coordinating the fake documentation, and receiving substantial financial consideration in cash and through banking channels,” the ED said. Last week, the ED attached immovable properties, with an estimated total value of over Rs 212 crore, that allegedly constituted direct proceeds of crime as part of the money laundering probe.

Mohammad Suhail, who is also alleged to be a “mastermind” in the land grabbing scam, was arrested in June by the Goa Police’s crime branch.

The Goa government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on June 15, 2022, to investigate cases of illegal land transfer and land grabbing. The SIT probed 44 FIRs involving more than 100 properties and made over 75 arrests. In its report, the Commission of Inquiry, which was appointed to probe the cases, detailed how government records had been tampered with in a “systematic and organised” manner and forged sale deeds with Portuguese-era calligraphy were inserted into the records, allegedly “in connivance with the staff of the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology”.