SRINAGAR — An 80-year-old former Ayurvedic doctor has been arrested in connection with multiple alleged land fraud cases in Kashmir, including transactions involving properties belonging to Kashmiri migrant families, according to reports citing the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Crime Branch.
The accused, identified by police as Somnath Koul, was arrested after a prolonged search and is currently lodged in Srinagar Central Jail in judicial custody.
Investigators allege that Koul operated under several identities, including Brijnath Bhat, Hadinath Dhar and Mohan Lal Dhar, and posed either as a property owner or as a person authorised to sell land. Multiple cases involving alleged cheating, forgery and fraudulent property transactions have been registered against him, police said.
One of the cases arose from a complaint lodged by a south Kashmir resident in November last year. The complainant allegedly agreed to purchase five kanals of land in Drusoo village of Pulwama and 300 poplar trees in Bijbehara for ₹93 lakh.
According to the complaint, the buyer subsequently approached a court to have the agreement to sell ratified but discovered that the land did not belong to the person named as the seller.
Investigators alleged that the Drusoo land belonged to a Kashmiri migrant Pandit and that the accused had allegedly posed as the owner’s attorney. In the Bijbehara transaction, he allegedly represented himself as the owner.
The Crime Branch registered an FIR in the case on April 1.
Investigators have also linked Koul to earlier complaints involving alleged advance payments for land in Baramulla and Srinagar.
These include allegations that buyers paid ₹9.17 lakh for a property in Goshabugh, Pattan, and ₹47 lakh in a transaction involving land at Gulab Bagh Pandach.
In another alleged fraud, the same parcel of land in Humhama was reportedly promised to two different buyers, from whom a combined amount of ₹1 crore was allegedly taken.
According to investigators, at least four other cases dating from 2017 to 2026 were identified during the probe. The allegations include the use of false identities and documents in agreements involving properties left behind by Kashmiri migrant families.
The cases remain subject to investigation and judicial proceedings. The allegations against the accused have not been established as proven offences by a court.
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