Goa police have arrested Vittorio Jose Velho, a resident of Panaji, in connection with an alleged land grab at Penha-da-Franca in North Goa. The crime branch team initiated the investigation after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed by Maria Violante Celina Sushila de Vicira Velho, also known as Maria V Celina S de Velho e Almeida, and Fernando Jose de Matos Sequeira Almeida, both residents of Altinho, Panaji.
According to SP (Crime Branch) Rahul Gupta, the alleged land fraud occurred prior to August 26, 2024, when Vittorio Jose Velho and his wife Marinela Velho, along with Prajay Shirodkar (from Porvorim), Arun Kumar Gupta (from Uttar Pradesh), Ganga Prasad Kushwaha (from Delhi), and Anurag Kushwaha (from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh), conspired to forge documents related to a property at Penha-da-Franca.
The accused then presented these forged documents as genuine to the Bardez mamlatdar to fraudulently transfer the property rights to their names, thereby cheating the complainants and other rightful co-owners.
In connection with the investigation, Vittorio Jose Velho was arrested, while Kushwaha was questioned after receiving a 35(3) BNSS notice. The investigation revealed that Vittorio had forged a gift deed and entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Kushwaha and others to sell the land.
The crime branch is continuing its investigation to determine whether the other accused had a role in the preparation of the forged gift deed and to uncover further details of the criminal conspiracy.
