Land-grabbing case: Arrested AAP MLA's aide held

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police today arrested Lakhpat Singh, the co-accused in the cheating and land-grabbing case in which AAP MLA from Kondli constituency Manoj Kumar was arrested a few days ago.

Forty-year-old Singh, Kumar's accomplice and business partner, was arrested from his house in GD Colony in Mayur Vihar Phase-III. He was produced before a city court, which remanded him to one day's police custody.

"Lakhpat had allegedly convinced the complainant, New Ashok Nagar-resident Vijay Kumar, that the property being sold to him was owned by Manoj," said a senior police officer.

The complainant had paid Rs 6 lakh as advance to the AAP MLA for the property, which was actually owned by some one else. Singh had been absconding since Thursday when Kumar was arrested, based on an FIR registered at New Ashok Nagar police station in May 2014.

Kumar and Lakhpat ran a property business in Mayur Vihar Phase-III, police said.

As per the FIR filed by Vijay, he had been offered a 46 sq yard land at Rajvir Colony in village Gharoli Majra by Manoj Kumar and Lakhpat.

As per the FIR, the land deal was finalised at a price of Rs 21.60 lakh and the complainant entered into an agreement on stamp papers and paid an advance of Rs 6 lakh. But later it turned out that the property was not registered in Manoj Kumar's name.

It was also alleged that the property was fraudulently shown to be owned by Manoj Kumar through forged papers.

Police will now question Manoj Kumar and Lakhpat together to cross check information gathered so far. The MLA has not been cooperating during questioning and was admitted to hospital after he complained of ill health hours after his arrest, police said.

The police suspected that the duo were also involved in other cases of land fraud and forgery which are yet to come to light. He is also likely to be taken out of Delhi for raiding the places from where they obtained forged papers to sell the land property to Vijay Kumar, police added.