In the forged heirship certificate scam uncovered in December last year, five lawyers and two court employees have now been arrested, with more individuals under investigation. The accused are alleged to have misappropriated Rs 66 lakh in court fees, with authorities recovering Rs 62 lakh of the stolen amount. The scam has prompted further scrutiny, and additional arrests are anticipated.
Among the arrested are three lawyers—Amar Patwardhan, Nitin Kelkar, and Gauri Kelkar—along with court clerk Deepak Phad, who were taken into custody on December 27. Later, Dhairyashil Bandivadekar, an assistant superintendent at the Panvel civil court, was arrested. Recently, two more lawyers, Sanket Patil and Vishal Mundkar, were arrested and are now in police custody.
Police investigations reveal that the accused exploited the court fee system by depositing only 10% of the collected fees, siphoning off the remaining amount. The scam was exposed when Kamaladevi Narayandas Gupta attempted to use a forged heirship certificate to claim land under CIDCO’s 12.5% land scheme, but the document did not appear in CIDCO’s records. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that the certificate was fake, complete with counterfeit seals and signatures of judicial officers.
This led to a formal complaint being lodged with the Panvel City Police in November, triggering a deeper investigation. According to police officials, they are now expanding their inquiry to include potential involvement from additional court staff, real estate brokers, and CIDCO officials.
“We are investigating further, and additional arrests are expected as the investigation progresses,” a police officer from Panvel City Police Station stated.
Authorities are preparing to file a fourth case related to the scam as the investigation continues.
