HYDERABAD: An investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has uncovered alleged manipulation of the Dharani Portal, the state’s integrated land records management system, concerning the fraudulent acquisition and sale of government land in Nagaram village. Central to this case is a false affidavit that purportedly supported land succession and subsequent sale.
The ED’s provisional attachment order indicates that Khader Unissa submitted an affidavit on the Dharani Portal, claiming to be the sole legal heir of her deceased father, Nawab Haji Ali Khan. Documentation and statements from revenue officials, however, confirm that Ali Khan had two sons, Farooq Ali Khan and Akbar Ali Khan, as well as daughters, rendering Unissa’s claim baseless. Nonetheless, the affidavit was approved by the jurisdictional tahsildar without proper verification, facilitating fraudulent succession.
Further investigation revealed that the succession summary on the portal included an Aadhaar number for Ali Khan. Notably, he passed away in 2006, four years prior to the introduction of Aadhaar in 2010, suggesting that records were either fabricated or manipulated retroactively.
The ED’s findings indicate the involvement of intermediaries in the document handling. Mohd. Munawar Khan stated that brokers Mohd. Abdul Rahman Sharfan and Akhtar Sharfan were responsible for preparing and submitting the application along with forged succession documents. Abdul Rahman corroborated this claim, noting that Akhtar submitted the paperwork on the Dharani Portal. Additionally, Munawar Khan identified Akhtar as the individual who filed applications on his behalf.
Notably, a previous application was rejected by the collector for discrepancies in details. Despite this, a subsequent application managed to secure approval, indicating a failure in the verification process. The ED noted that a forged letter allegedly from the Telangana Bhoodan Yagna Board was used to remove the land from the prohibited list under Section 22A. The board later clarified that the land remained categorized as Bhoodan land, revealing the deception.
Revenue officials neglected to verify the authenticity of the affidavit and supporting documentation. The portal’s reliance on offline verification by revenue authorities emerged as a critical vulnerability, allowing the fraudulent succession to be sanctioned. Based on this sanction, the land was recorded under Unissa’s name, after which she and her son Munawar Khan executed a partition deed and subsequently sold the land via 11 registered sale deeds, generating over ₹17.50 crore in revenue.
