Police Uncover ₹3.90-Crore Land Registration Fraud, Online Portals Exploited 

Warangal police have uncovered a sophisticated land registration fraud worth ₹3.90 crore, revealing how criminals exploited technical loopholes in Telangana’s online land registration systems to divert government revenue while generating documents that appeared fully legitimate.

What initially looked like routine land registrations across multiple districts turned out to be a coordinated digital scam that manipulated official fee payments on state-run portals. The investigation has so far led to 15 arrests and exposed serious vulnerabilities in the digitisation of land records.

Fraud Leveraged Weaknesses in Online Land Portals

According to police, the accused exploited gaps in the Dharani portal and its successor, the Bhu Bharathi platform, which are used for land registration and fee payments in Telangana.

Warangal Commissioner of Police Sunpreet Singh said the network used a mobile application and technical expertise to tamper with online challans at the payment stage. The accused allegedly paid reduced registration fees to the government but altered the digital receipts to reflect higher amounts. These forged challans were then submitted during land registrations, allowing transactions to proceed without raising immediate suspicion.

The manipulated receipts were routed through intermediaries and presented at Tahsildar offices, embedding the fraud within normal administrative processes.

Over 1,000 Documents Manipulated, ₹3.90 Crore Loss Estimated

Police have registered 22 cases so far—seven in Jangaon district and 15 in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district. Investigators estimate that at least 1,080 land documents were processed using forged payment receipts, causing a direct loss of approximately ₹3.90 crore to the state exchequer.

During raids, law enforcement seized ₹63.19 lakh in cash, property documents valued at nearly ₹1 crore, a car, two laptops, five desktop computers and 17 mobile phones. Authorities confirmed that nine additional suspects are still absconding, and further arrests are expected.

Middlemen and Service Centres Played Key Role

Investigators identified three individuals from Yadadri district—Pasunari Basavaraju, Jella Pandu and Maheshwaram Ganesh—as key conspirators in the operation.

Police said the trio worked with staff from Mee-Seva centres and private computer service centres operating in Jangaon, Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri and Nalgonda districts. The group allegedly recruited middlemen who facilitated agricultural land registrations using forged digital documents, earning commissions of 10% to 30% per transaction.

These intermediaries acted as the bridge between landowners, service centres and the falsified online records, enabling the fraud to scale across districts.

Authorities Flag Risks in Rapid Digitisation

Senior officials said the case underscores how digitisation—while designed to improve transparency and efficiency—can create new opportunities for technology-driven fraud if systems are not adequately secured.

Commissioner Sunpreet Singh praised the investigation team for dismantling the network, specifically commending officers from the West Zone, Jangaon district and Raghunathpally division for their coordinated effort. Cash rewards have been announced for the officers involved.

Police said financial trails are still being examined to identify additional beneficiaries and recover the remaining diverted funds. The investigation remains ongoing.