A 55-year-old man, Ravi Shankar Sharma, was arrested by the Ghaziabad Police on Saturday for allegedly duping a woman from Varanasi in a Rs15.5 lakh land scam in Loni.
Sharma, a resident of Loni Border and a self-proclaimed property dealer, was accused of forging documents and misrepresenting land ownership. The complaint was lodged by Chanda Srivastava, who said Sharma took money in exchange for a residential plot and later failed to deliver it, producing fake registration documents.
According to ACP Siddharth Gautam, the case dates back to 2016, when Chanda and her brother Abhay Srivastava contacted Sharma to purchase a 150-yard plot in Ram Vihar, Banthala, Loni, priced tRs15.5 lakh. Sharma issued a General Power of Attorney (GPA) in his name and executed a sale deed for 50 yards in Chanda’s name. The remaining 100 yards were promised to Abhay upon full payment.
By July 2020, the full payment had been made through a mix of cash and online transfers. But when Chanda attempted to take possession, she discovered the land belonged to LMC (Local Municipal Corporation) and could not be claimed.
To manage the situation, Sharma arranged for a new plot of 70 yards in Behta Hajipur via an associate, Rajendra Singh. However, due to an internal family dispute, this land too was reclaimed by Rajendra within days.
Though Sharma has refunded about ₹8 lakh in instalments, the remainder remains unpaid. A case was filed at the Loni Police Station under multiple sections of the IPC, including 420 (cheating), 467/468/471 (forgery), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 504 (insult), and 506 (criminal intimidation).
