Four of family held for usurping 82-year-old’s land in Mumbai

The Malwani police on Wednesday booked four relatives of a senior citizen for     selling 11 acres of her prime land in Madh, Malad (West), to developers by falsely taking her thumb impression on a blank paper.

According to the police, the incident happened between 2007 and 2010. The victim has been identified as Jhilubai Koli, 82, a Malwani resident.

The police have identified the accused as Jhilubai’s sisters-in-law Vatsala Koli and Bhanubai Koli, her niece Shubangi and Shubangi’s husband Janak Shah. They have been booked for cheating, forgery for the purpose of cheating and using as genuine a forged document.

Initial investigations revealed that the property got transferred to the complainant’s name in 1964. The land was used for farming and was a source of income to her.

Police sources said that on April 27, 2007, the accused approached the developers with an offer to sell the land. Officials said that in order to facilitate the deal, the accused misguided Jhilubai into giving her thumb impressions on some blank sheets.

They later manipulated the documents.

Jhilubai realised that she had been cheated only recently when the developers came to the plot and started fencing the property. “We are investigating all the possible angles,” said senior inspector V Aandhale of the Malwani police station.