Couple held for preparing 'fake' patta against govt land

A 55-year-old man and his wife were arrested today for allegedly preparing a fake 'patta' against a government land and using it to get bank loan which they defaulted, police said.
Isac Pon Singh, a department store owner here allegedly prepared a fake patta, showing him as the owner of the land measuring about 2040 square feet worth over Rs one crore in downtown Guindy.
Police said he later transferred "his property" to his wife Hilda through a settlement deed. By using the fake documents, he "mortgaged" the land with Tamil Nadu Mercantile Bank and got Rs.70 lakh loan to develop his department store.

However, he did not repay his loan after promptly paying some instalments.
Since the bank could not secure the loan amount as the couple went absconding, it took steps to auction the land.
At that time, the bank authorities were told that the land was government owned. Shocked bank officials lodged a police complaint.
A special police team specialising in banking frauds linked to property transactions arrested Isac and his wife today after days of surveillance.
They were produced before a court which remanded them to judicial custody.