Srinagar, Oct 9 : 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, after investigators traced several complaints linked to the use of different identities and allegedly forged documents.

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, according to reports citing the Economic Offences Wing of the Crime Branch.
Investigators allege that the accused operated under several names, including Brijnath Bhat, Hadinath Dhar and Mohan Lal Dhar, and posed either as the owner of properties or as a person authorised to sell them. Police have said that multiple cases involving alleged cheating, forgery and fraudulent land transactions have been registered against him.
One complaint, lodged by a south Kashmir resident in November last year, alleged that the complainant had agreed to purchase five kanals of land in Drusoo village of Pulwama and 300 poplar trees in Bijbehara for Rs 93 lakh. The complainant reportedly approached the court to have the agreement to sell ratified, only to discover that the land did not belong to the person named as the seller.
Investigators alleged that the land in Drusoo belonged to a Kashmiri migrant Pandit and that the accused had 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.
Police have also linked the accused to earlier complaints involving alleged advance payments for land in Baramulla and Srinagar. These include allegations that buyers paid Rs 9.17 lakh for a property in Goshabugh, Pattan, and Rs 47 lakh in a transaction involving land at Gulab Bagh Pandach. Investigators have further alleged that the same parcel of land in Humhama was promised to two different buyers, from whom a combined amount of Rs one 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.