TURA:
Tura police have busted a well-oiled criminal gang behind the sale of tribal land to outsiders by arresting a land records holder from the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council on Wednesday.
One of the ring leaders of the racket, GHADC mondol or land assessment official Nandaram Acharya, aged 57 years, was taken into custody from Brahmanpara locality of Tura town, and documents including over 20 land pattas, files, note sheets, and maps were seized from his possession.
He had allegedly been diverting tribal land for sale to outsiders for a huge sum by creating land disputes in demarcation and also forging and making multiple pattas for the same land.
The entire illegal operation is said to involve several persons and police are on the lookout for other members of the gang.
As per initial assessment, money to the tune of a couple of crores of rupees is said to have been exchanged for the sale of tribal land to outsiders within Garo Hills itself and police are following the money trail to get to the bottom of the story.