Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Panaji Zonal Office, has provisionally attached an immovable property worth approximately ₹6.82 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The attached asset is a 1950 sq. m. land parcel bearing Survey No. 504/10 in Anjuna, Bardez.
The ED action follows a chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of Goa Police in FIR No. 64/2022 dated July 23, 2022, registered at the Crime Branch Police Station. In that case, Mohammed Suhail, Anjum Shaikh, and Nure Faizal Bhatkar were named as accused for offences including cheating, forgery, and the use of forged documents under the IPC.
According to investigators, Mohammed Suhail, described by ED as a habitual offender, has been linked to multiple land-grabbing cases across Goa, with several FIRs lodged against him.
In the present case, ED found that Suhail allegedly devised a detailed scheme to illegally acquire land belonging to the complainant’s parents. Investigators say the accused prepared forged birth and death certificates to create a fictitious legal heir and then used these fabricated records to execute a false Deed of Succession. A fraudulent Power of Attorney was subsequently issued in favour of Suhail’s associate, Nure Faizal Bhatkar, enabling the transfer of the property to Suhail’s wife, Anjum Shaikh, through a Sale Deed dated September 29, 2010. The property was later sold to Shaikh Salim on April 15, 2011.
The ED noted that the property was grossly undervalued during the 2011 sale. While the registered value was shown as ₹50 lakh, the agency determined the fair market value to be ₹6.82 crore at the time. Investigators also unearthed cash payments made over and above the registered amount, which were allegedly used by Suhail for loan repayments and personal expenses, thereby attempting to project the proceeds of crime as legitimate.
The ED stated that further investigation is ongoing.
