Bhadrak: Police have arrested two siblings for falsely declaring their mother dead in official records to seize her land and house in the district.
The accused, identified as 44-year-old Sk Tofek and 34-year-old Sk Mojahid from Jayanagar village under Dhamnagar police limits, were taken into custody and subsequently produced before a court, following a dramatic public protest by their elderly mother.
The dispute came to light after the victim, Aisha Bibi, staged a dharna outside the Bhadrak SP’s office on Friday, demanding the restoration of her property rights and strict criminal prosecution against her sons. The elderly woman alleged that while she was away on a pilgrimage in 2023, her sons submitted a false affidavit claiming she had died about 40 years earlier and that she had no daughters.
Relying on this document, the Dhamnagar revenue inspector reportedly filed a report declaring her deceased without proper verification. Her name was then removed from the land records, and her house along with other properties were transferred to her sons’ names.
Aisha, who has six daughters, maintained that the entire process was deliberately engineered to deprive her and her daughters of their rightful share. After discovering the manipulation, she lodged a complaint at Dhamnagar police station on July 10 against her two sons, their wives and the revenue inspector concerned. She claimed that little concrete action followed for nearly three weeks.
Once informed, Bhadrak SP Manoj Kumar Rout directed the local police to act, and the district administration was notified in writing about the allegations against the revenue official, with assurances of verification and appropriate steps.
Dhamnagar IIC Subhrajit Das stated that the victim called off her protest after receiving an assurance that legal action would be taken against all those found involved in the alleged fraud. More arrests are expected as the probe progresses.