Muslim man grabs Dalit woman’s land with fake death certificate and will, family aghast

HASSAN: A shocking incident of land grabbing has come to light in Chikkanayakanahalli village of Belagodu hobli, Sakleshpur taluk, Hassan district where a man forged documents to usurp a Dalit woman’s land.

Sheikh Mohammad, a resident of JP Nagar in Ballupet, has allegedly created fake documents and obtained a death certificate of Siddamma, a woman who is still alive, and usurped her property.

Siddamma’s husband Siddaiah was granted 1.20 acres of land on Survey No. 68 under the Scheduled Caste quota in 1983. And after his death in 1992, the property was transferred to Siddamma’s name. Siddamma has two children, Ningaraju and Ratnamma. After Siddamma shifted to her son’s house due to ill health, Sheikh Mohammad, who was known to the family, approached the family to cultivate the land in lieu of an annual payment.

When her health deteriorated, Sheikh Mohammad, created fake documents, including a will executed on March 3, 2008, and obtained a death certificate of Siddamma, who is still alive. He then claimed to be Siddamma’s adopted son and got the property transferred to his name.

After the fraud came to light, Siddamma’s family is demanding action against Sheikh Mohammad and the officials involved in the scam. They accused officials of colluding with Sheikh Mohammad and issuing a death certificate of Siddamma, who is still alive. The family has demanded an investigation into the matter and action against the revenue officials, including the village accountant, revenue inspector, and deputy tahsildar, who are suspected to be involved in the scam.

Siddamma’s son Ningaraju told Public TV, “After my father’s demise, the land was transferred to my mother and we had been cultivated the land all along. Sheikh Mohammed created fake documents to claim that he was my mother’s adopted son. We have approached all the authorites and we want justice”

Siddamma said, “After my husband’s death, the land was transferred to my name. Now, he created documents to claim that I am dead and usurped our land and even claimed that he was my adopted son. He is now refusing to return the land, we have not taken any money from him”.

Belagodu Basavaraju, a local resident, told Public TV, “Mohammed created fake documents to establish that he had performed the last rites of my mother. After we came to know about the fraud, we complained to the police, tahsildar, police superintendent and also Revenue Minister Krishna Byregowda and the deputy commissioner. No FIR has been filed so far, but no investigation has been done so far. Sheikh has been involved in another case and has been booked for Dalit atrocity”.

The police have received a complaint, but no FIR has been registered yet. The authorities have assured that they will investigate the matter and take necessary action.