The Central Crime Branch (CCB) police have arrested two persons for allegedly fabricating fake documents and selling a vacant plot of land worth ₹1.5 crore in Kolathur, belonging to a retired government officer.

According to the police, the complainant, Mary Varghese, 65, a retired Joint Director from the Department of Social Welfare, originally from Kerala and residing in Madhavaram, owned a 2,605 sq. ft. vacant plot in Kolathur valued at around ₹1.5 crore.

In an attempt to grab her land, the accused persons allegedly created fake lease documents as though they were executed by Mary Varghese. The first accused, Srinivasan, fraudulently used an old document registration number from 1982, belonging to the Sembium Sub-Registrar Office and, using that, managed to obtain a patta (land title) from the Kolathur Tahsildar’s office.

Subsequently, without referring to any previous ownership details, the second accused, Elanchezhiyan, and his mother Prema (third accused) registered a fake lease document in their names a few months ago and attempted to sell the property.

Based on Mary Varghese’s complaint filed with the Chennai Police Commissioner last April, the Land Fraud Investigation Wing (LFIW) of the Central Crime Branch registered a case and began an investigation.

The police team arrested the two accused — Srinivasan, 64, of Kolathur and Elanchezhiyan, 50, of Manali. During interrogation, the police found that the two accused are related to each other; Srinivasan is a theatre owner in Kolathur, while Elanchezhiyan runs a steel shop. The police have launched a search for another suspect who remains at large.