The Merces Additional Sessions Court has granted the Special Investigation Team on Land Grabbing of the Goa Crime Branch a two-month extension to carry out further investigation into the Mapusa land forgery and impersonation case involving the prime accused, Siddique alias Suleman Khan.

The case against Siddique alias Suleman Khan and others was originally registered at the Mapusa Police Station following a complaint filed by the Bardez Civil Registrar-cum-Sub-Registrar. It revolves around a massive property scam. According to the complaint, unknown individuals dishonestly prepared a forged and fraudulent sale deed dated November 20, 1996, by impersonating the lawful owners of a prime property surveyed under Chalta No. 2 of PT Sheet No. 67 in Mapusa city. The accused allegedly used a counterfeit rubber stamp of the Civil Registrar to process the deed and later produced the forged documents before land survey officials to illegally transfer ownership rights.

Siddique alias Suleman Khan was arrested by the SIT on November 12, 2024, and is currently lodged in the Central Jail at Colvale. Following his arrest, the SIT filed a chargesheet within the statutory 90-day period on January 30, 2025.

In its application seeking an extension of time, the SIT stated that a comprehensive investigation is still required to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy, as the original mutation files and the 1996 volume of deeds were forwarded to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) in Pune in March 2025. The final examination report, which is crucial for verifying the authenticity of the seized documents, remains awaited despite repeated reminders.

The SIT emphasized that the CFSL findings are necessary to determine whether any public servants actively participated in, abetted, or facilitated the commission of the offence. The SIT further contended that while information has been gathered from various local authorities, individuals, and banks, it is still analysing financial transactions to establish clear money trails and identify co-conspirators.

Granting the SIT additional time for further investigation, the court observed in its order that, “Good grounds have been made out by the SIT warranting further investigation. Hence, the application is allowed.”