4 more suspects arrested in ULC land scam, 3 still absconding

Four more suspects, including land developers and builders, were arrested by the crime investigation department (CID) in connection with the urban land ceiling (ULC) order scam on Wednesday.

The suspects have been identified as Himmatlal Ratanshi Patel (46) and Ashokbhai Ratanshi Patel (42), both residents of Warje, and Ravindra Ramniklal Lunkad (38) and Rajesh Ramniklala Lunkad (42) of Aundh.

According to the police, Sanjay Dhanraj Gatagat, owner of land located in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), entered into an agreement with the Lunkads, Patels and one Sajid Bagwan for land development and had given power of attorney to them.

It was the duty of the land developer to get the ULC order while seeking permission for construction from the PCMC. But the suspects produced a ULC order in the name of one Sajay Kalate to the PCMC, which asked the developers to produced ULC order in the name of Sanjay Gatagat.

Later, all the suspects, along with ULC order agent Bhausaheb Shinde, forged a fake ULC order by paying him Rs1.55 lakh, but the PCMC got to know that the order was fake.

Three other accomplices in the crime, Atul Ramchandra Panse, Sujay Surendra Chopde and Sajid Bagwan, are on the run.