The police have launched a comprehensive investigation into the alleged amassing of wealth by six persons who were arrested in connection with the illegal availing of loans from various branches of the Kerala State Financial Enterprise (KSFE) using fake title deeds. The decision to proceed with the probe was taken following the recent arrest of Aneesh Rashid, a Manjeri native who was a close relative and the close aide of prime suspect N. Niyas Ali.
According to police sources, the suspect purchased several hectares with the money they secured from KSFE with forged title deeds. The majority of the properties were purchased from land holders in Karnataka. Investigation team members confirmed that they had evidence to prove the purchase of around 50 acres in Karnataka’s Gundlupet.
The police have so far registered over 30 cases against suspects in fake title deed cases in Kozhikode district alone. The major portion of the fund was secured from the KSFE branch at Engappuzha. Of the total cases, around 20 are under investigation by the Chevayur police.
It was in 2022 that the financial fraud by the six-member gang came to light following an investigation by the Thamarassery police. There were even persons specialised in creating fake office seals, fake sketches, and location maps to support forged title deeds. They had also been offered huge rewards.
Police sources said the gang was operating like a parallel village office for fabricating land-related documents to be produced for clearing loans. The trickery was to purchase low-budget land and show it as a high-value property by fabricating the valuation certificate and other related documents. There were many such suspected cases within the limits of Engappuzha and Balussery village offices.
It was after the busting of the fake certificate racket that financial institutions started tightening the document verification procedures ahead of disbursing funds. Field-level verification directly by staff members was also made mandatory to identify fraudsters.
