Mapusa Police book six people for fabricating Will
MAPUSA
The late Anant Narayan Kamat of Corjuem, Aldona, a respected figure of the serene village, could hardly have imagined that after his death, a conspiracy would allegedly be hatched to usurp his vast ancestral properties through forgery and fraud.
In a case that exposes the growing and brazen attempts at land grabbing in Goa, six individuals, including a land broker, now stand accused of fabricating a Will in Kamat’s name to illicitly acquire nearly 2.8 lakh square meters of prime land across Corjuem.
A complaint filed at Mapusa Police Station by multiple legal heirs of the late Kamat has alleged that the group conspired to create a fake Will, impersonate the deceased and deceive authorities into transferring ownership of properties spread over survey numbers 52/0, 51/3, 50/7, 100/7, 100/1, 53/8, 55/8, 55/9, 28/1 (part) and 140/1 (part).
Among those booked in the First Information Report (FIR) are land broker Vishant Kamat, Suhasini Padwal, Prakash Mahambre, Vaman Shridhar Polle, Devidas Gopinath Panjikar and an unidentified individual.
The police have invoked serious charges under Sections 319 (2), 336 (3), 338, 340 (2) and 318 (4) read with 3 (5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023.
Forgery uncovered (sub head)
The scandal unraveled in November 2024 when heirs stumbled upon suspicious mutation entries concerning their properties.
Shockingly, despite Anant Narayan Kamat passing away without a Will – he and his wife having died issueless, and his brother remaining a bachelor – a forged Will dated October 29, 2018, surfaced. It claimed to be executed before a public notary in Mumbai and was clandestinely probated on September 26, 2024.
Alarm bells rang louder when the complainants noticed that the forged document falsely listed Kamat’s residence as Sawantwadi, Maharashtra – a glaring inaccuracy, considering Kamat’s lifelong residence in Corjuem, which was also officially documented through his ration card and other records.
More damning evidence includes a glaring error in the forged Will: it states Kamat’s age as 88 years, whereas he was, in fact, 100 years old at the purported time of execution.
Conspiracy and collusion
The complainants have alleged a deep-seated criminal conspiracy involving not just the accused individuals, but also a public notary, a stamp vendor and even a legal professional.
Suhasini Padwal and Prakash Mahambre, named as major beneficiaries in the fake Will, are accused of orchestrating the scheme in collusion with others.
“The Will attributed to late Anant Narayan Kamat is ex-facie illegal, forged, false and fabricated, and does not confer any rights upon the supposed beneficiaries,” the complaint states.
In particular, the fraudulent execution of the Will outside Goa – in Mumbai – is being seen as a deliberate tactic to avoid scrutiny from local heirs and authorities.
The case sheds disturbing light on a broader, increasingly sophisticated trend of land grabs in Goa, where fraudsters exploit procedural loopholes, fabricate documents and manipulate legal systems to usurp properties – often targeting estates of those without immediate descendants.
Police investigations are ongoing and pressure is mounting for a thorough and transparent probe.
Meanwhile, in the peaceful lanes of Aldona, villagers watch with concern as the legacy of a respected son of the soil is dragged through the muck of deceit and greed.
