Bengaluru:11 people arrested for forging documents to grab trust land worth Rs 100 cr

Bengaluru, Jul 14 (PTI) Eleven people, including six government officers, have been arrested for allegedly forging documents to grab six acres of land worth over Rs 100 crore belonging to Sri Adichunchanagiri Shikshana Trust, police said on Tuesday. The arrested accused have been identified as Francis, Arogyaswamy, Srinivasu, Narendra Kumar, Joseph, Deputy Tahsildars -- Deepak and M P Ravi and Revenue Inspectors Kiran Kumar and Arun Kumar, village Administrative Officers Shivaprasad and Satish Kumar, they said. Efforts are being made to nab the remaining suspects involved in the incident, police said. The six-acre land, valued at over Rs 100 crore, forms part of a 45-acre property owned by the Sri Adichunchanagiri Shikshana Trust in Survey No 43 of Kambipura village in Kengeri, which was allegedly targeted by a group using forged documents, they added. According to the police, accused Francis, in collusion with certain Revenue Department officials, allegedly fabricated documents claiming that six acres in Survey No 43 had been granted under the soldier's quota to one Arogyaswamy, son of Antony, during 1960-61. "Francis allegedly posed as the son and legal heir of Arogyaswamy and created forged documents, including a fake family tree, death certificate, grant certificate and other revenue records," police said in a statement. Using these forged documents, the accused allegedly got the land entered in the revenue records in his name and claimed ownership over six acres out of the Trust's 45-acre property. He also allegedly attempted to encroach upon the land, it said. Based on a complaint lodged by the Secretary of the Sri Adichunchanagiri Education Trust at Kumbalagodu Police Station on June 10, 2026, a case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police said. "During the investigation, police examined the case from multiple angles and arrested the accused for allegedly creating forged family tree records, death certificates, grant certificates and other documents to illegally grab the six-acre land belonging to the Trust," it said. All the accused have been remanded to judicial custody, police said. Naresh Gowda, along with Revenue Department staff members Srikanth, Manjunath and Raghavendra, who allegedly assisted the prime accused Arogyaswamy in creating forged documents and illegally securing the land records, are absconding, police added. The investigation has further revealed information and documents suggesting that the accused may have created forged records in connection with several other land parcels as well, in an attempt to grab them. Further investigation is underway. PTI AMP ADB