Beware of bogus land owners

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

The police have warned the public to be cautious of those who pose as land owners and try to dispose of others’ lands illegally.

Several bogus land deals have been reported from many parts of the country due to original deeds being forged and sold to unsuspecting buyers by racketeers without the knowledge of the real owners, the Police Media Spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana told the Sunday Observer. He said these rackets were being perpetrated by both, men and women with the connivance of corrupt officials from land registries to dupe buyers and earn large sums of monies.

SSP Ajith Rohana said the police had received three such complaints from people who had purchased the same land from a woman at Pugoda. The woman on being questioned had admitted that she sold the same land to 15 people and collected large sums of money.

According to the police idle lands belonging to those living abroad for a considerable length of time had been sold in this manner.

Police have warned the public to cross check whether such deeds had been registered at the land registry concerned and to ensure that such land deeds have not been forged when purchasing lands from unknown persons. During the past few years several forged land deeds along with forged National Identity Cards of owners of such lands had been bared, the police said.