Land scam busted in Odisha, three held

The economic offences wing of the Odisha Police Crime Branch has busted a gang involved in a land scam in state capital Bhubaneswar. Three gang members were arrested Friday, an official said.

Narayan Chandra Pradhan, Arun Kumar Bhanja, and Bansidhar Pradhan were arrested in the state capital on the basis of evidence that showed they were part of a gang forging documents and selling government lands to different individuals.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Rajesh Kumar told IANS that a complaint was lodged with the crime branch by the general administration department of the state government July 3.

After investigation, it was found that the accused forged documents to register about 51.5 acres of government land worth Rs.150 crore in different areas of the state capital in their names.

They also sold the land to different individuals at high rates. There were others involved in the racket too, and police are in the process of nailing them down, Kumar said.