AP Registrations Dept. intensifies the efforts to recover money swindled in fake challan scam

The officials of Andhra Pradesh Registration department have stepped up their efforts to recover the money swindled in the fake challans scam. It is learned that irregularities have been detected in Gandhinagar, Gunadala, Patamata, Kankipada, Mandavalli, and Nandigama sub-registrar offices in the district. It has been confirmed that Rs 5.21 crore has been looted from 772 documents so far under the purview of these sub-registrars without being credited to the exchequer.

The matter has been under deep scrutiny by the Department of Registrations and Stamps for some years. Of these six, Mandavalli Sub-Registrar alone has been found to have laundered Rs 2.62 crore for 581 documents. This is the highest amount of corruption in the state through fake challans. It is noteworthy that Balaji was the only document writer there who made all this money! The audit also found that Rs 1.82 crore had been misappropriated from 143 documents at the Patamata Sub-Registrar's office in Vijayawada.

Since the issue of these fake challans came to light, the registration department officials have been focusing on money recovery and taking action against the culprits. Mandeville, along with the Patamata sub-registrars and a junior assistant in the Patamata registrar's office was recently suspended. The complaint was lodged against Mandavalli document writer Balaji. Document scribes were found guilty of corruption by charging a fee to be paid to the government by the registered property owner and morphing in the wrong ways. Authorities have already issued notices to the owners concerned. Confused by the fraud, the owners put pressure on the scribes to gradually recover the money they had squandered.

The money was recovered from Vijayawada's Gandhinagar, Nandigama, and Kankipada sub-registrar's offices. "On the other hand, a document containing Rs 2.62 crore has been collected from the Mandavalli Sub-Registrar's office by Balaji, who has collected nearly Rs 1 crore so far, and the rest of the money will be recovered soon Registration Department," officials said. Balaji's son Ram Dheeraj, on the other hand, is the document vendor. He, too, followed in his father's footsteps. A fixed amount has to be paid to the government through challans to enable the sale of documents. But Dheeraj was also arrested after the authorities found out that he had embezzled Rs 1.53 lakh through fake challans and lodged a complaint with the police against him. Authorities recovered Rs 1.53 lakh from Dheeraj.

Of the Rs 5,21,27,931 looted through fake challans in the district, authorities have so far recovered Rs 2,72,22,719 (52.22 percent). "We are taking all possible steps to collect the remaining Rs 2,49,05,212," DIG, Department of Stamps and Registrations, Rabindranath told.