KADAPA: The menace of fake challans is now haunting the Kadapa Stamps and Registrations department. A case was registered at Rims police station following a complaint lodged by officials of Kadapa town sub-registrar's office.
According to reliable sources, Rs 200 face value challans seem to be in circulation on a large scale. This came to light when the sub-registrar thoroughly examined the payment of fees for a document. According to preliminary information, it is believed that more than Rs 10 lakh worth of fake challans have been registered so far.
No work can be done in the urban and rural sub-registrar's offices without the involvement of agents. The government has taken steps to enable buyers and sellers to register directly without having to work with document writers. Only sellers and witnesses are allowed into the registration office. However, not a single registration takes place anywhere without agents. This situation has been capitalised upon by the agents, who have created fake challans.
It was during an examination of documents on August 3 that the sub-registrar found that the applicant had paid Rs 200 less. He told the person to submit a challan for the amount to cover the shortfall. When he did this in a jiffy, the alert sub-registrar became suspicious. After a thorough examination, he found out that it was a fake challan. Later, an official from the department said that the person who created fake challans has been identified and it is being investigated.
“We are looking into how long these have been in circulation. We have lodged a complaint with the policem” a senior official said. Kadapa Rims inspector Yerru Narendra Reddy said “We are investigating and will know the full details soon."
