City Centre mall fraud: Pithani brothers accused of selling shops on forged documents
The case, based on an FIR filed by landowner Anju Deorah, revealed fake agreements registered while she was abroad.
A file image of Guwahati City Centre (Photo: City Centre website)
Guwahati, Sept 17: Police investigations have revealed that shops in the Guwahati-based City Centre mall were sold and allotted to various owners based on false and fabricated documents allegedly executed by the Pithani Brothers.
The probe was initiated following an FIR registered at Dispur police station (case no. 2097 of 2022) under Sections 406, 420, 468, 471, and 120(B) of the Indian Penal Code. The complaint was filed by Anju Deorah, director of M/S Assam Vegetable and Oil Products Limited and M/S Sati Oil Udyog Limited. She is also the owner of the land in question.
In her FIR, Deorah alleged that M/S Brahmaputra Infrastructure Limited and its directors committed fraud in connection with a 2009 development agreement for the City Centre project in Guwahati.
According to the complaint, four forged agreements were registered and executed on April 18, 2019, while Deorah was in Hong Kong. She later discovered 13 additional agreements that she claimed were also fraudulent. As per the status report submitted by the police to the court, travel history details obtained from the Intelligence Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, confirmed that Deorah was out of India from April 15 to April 19, 2019.
During the course of the investigation, police sent the seized documents along with Anju Deorah’s signatures and thumb impressions to the State Forensic Science Laboratory and the State Fingerprint Bureau for examination. The forensic reports confirmed that the signatures on certain documents did not match Deorah’s verified signature and the specimen collected by the police. Furthermore, the fingerprint expert’s opinion concluded that Deorah’s thumb impressions were “non-identical” to those found on three seized registered agreements.
“By virtue of false and fabricated documents, shops were sold and allotted to various owners of the City Centre Mall by the Pithani Brothers, and investigators will soon file a chargesheet,” a police source said. The source added that several individuals, including Pradeep Harlalka, Anjana Harlalka, and Kabita Phukan, were served notices to produce original agreements.
“The case continues to be monitored by the Gauhati High Court, and there is a strong possibility that many shop owners may face criminal charges as they are part of the fabricated sale deeds and could possibly lose their ownership,” the source added.
Staff Reporter