City survey officer arrested in Madh land record tampering case | Mumbai news

Mumbai: A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the tampering of land records in coastal regulation zones (CRZ) and no development zones (NDZ) has arrested another city survey officer in connection with the scam on Thursday. The accused, Anil Shankar Dabhode, 42, who was in charge of the record room and maps at the city survey office in Goregaon, was arrested for allegedly facilitating the manipulation of land records to benefit builders and developers.

The fraud was first uncovered in 2016 when Vaibhav Thakur, a farmer from Malad, discovered that government records had been altered to classify Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and No Development Zone (NDZ) plots as developable land. The case gained momentum in 2024 when the Bombay High Court ordered the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which exposed a large-scale land scam involving systematic tampering of property records to illegally convert restricted coastal lands into developable plots along Mumbai’s shoreline. Two days ago, Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule informed the Legislative Assembly that the SIT would also investigate the role of the BMC’s then assistant municipal commissioners (AMCs) from the P-North, P-South, R-South, and R-Central wards.

According to police sources, the Crime Branch arrested Dabhode for his alleged involvement in the falsification of documents related to ecologically sensitive plots in the Madh area of Malad West. Investigators revealed that the manipulation occurred in 2019, during his tenure at the Goregaon city survey office from June 2018 to 2021. He was produced in court and remanded in police custody until April 1.

Dabhode’s arrest follows the detention of his colleague, Sambhuraj Vabhale, 47, on March 16. Vabhale, who was posted in the same office between 2018 and 2023, was initially the complainant in the case but was later arrested after his alleged role in the scam was uncovered. He was remanded in judicial custody on March 23. With Dabhode’s arrest, the total number of accused in the case has risen to eight.

Investigators found that eight original land survey maps had been altered to falsely depict unauthorised constructions as existing on December 31, 2019. Vabhale allegedly issued duplicate copies of these maps, which bore the signature of the Goregaon municipal land survey officer. “The investigation revealed that Vabhale signed 22 forged maps,” a police officer said. His lawyer, Sudhir Bhardawaj, argued in court that his client had been framed.

Case triggered by farmer’s complaint

Vaibhav Thakur, the farmer from Malad, who discovered that government records had been manipulated to classify CRZ and NDZ plots as developable land, had lodged an FIR against illegal constructions on his ancestral agricultural land and adjoining properties. However, local authorities made little progress in the case.

In October last year, Thakur filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, prompting the formation of an SIT under court orders. Since then, four FIRs have been registered—three at the Goregaon police station (one in 2020 and two in 2021) and a fourth at Kherwadi police station. The latter was filed by the deputy superintendent of land records after it was discovered that maps and documents had been forged to facilitate illegal construction in eco-sensitive zones.

The SIT has been investigating multiple cases linked to the scam. In November and December 2024, The crime branch arrested five individuals, including two city survey office peons—Devdas Jadhav and Sama Marade—along with a contractor, Narshim Pattawallu, a property owner, Shaikh Imam, and an agent.

Authorities claim they have uncovered 165 forged land record maps, allegedly tampered with by a nexus of government officials, contractors, and real estate agents. The forged documents were used to show that structures in Madh and Malad West existed before 1964. A notification from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) states that structures built before 1964 cannot be demolished. Exploiting this loophole, property owners, in collusion with corrupt officials and agents, created fraudulent documents to protect illegal constructions.