AHMEDABAD: A JMFC court in Sanand sentenced Raman Patel, owner of Popular Builders, to four years in prison for a fraudulent land transaction in Chekhla village near Ahmedabad dating back to 1996.
Patel was convicted of forgery and criminal conspiracy.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.40 lakh, directing that Rs 1 lakh be paid to the descendants of the landowner deceived by Patel and eight accomplices, including his brother Dashrath Patel, according to district government pleader Pravin Trivedi.
Both Raman and Dashrath were witnesses for the CBI in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.
In August 2020, Raman was arrested following allegations of attempted murder and domestic violence from his daughter-in-law. Multiple FIRs were later filed against the brothers for allegedly seizing land using fraudulent documents.
A 58-year-old farmer, Kanu Patel, from Chekhla village, lodged an FIR stating his family owned two ancestral land plots totaling about 62,500 sq m, marked as ‘restricted use’ by the revenue department.
Kanu accused Raman of forging documents from the Sanand mamlatdar, deceiving his father Jiva Patel, and creating fake sale deeds to acquire the two plots in 1994 and 1996. An inquiry revealed that the Sanand mamlatdar confirmed in December 2022 that he did not authorize any change in land use.
Further investigation showed that Patel had not compensated Kanu or his family. The disputed land was registered under 52 firms controlled by Raman and his relatives.
Charges against Patel included breach of trust, cheating, forgery, forgery of valuable security, using false documents as genuine, and criminal conspiracy.
