Rajkot: After a Rajkot man settled thousands of kilometres away in Canada, his lookalike allegedly stepped into his shoes — not to share his identity, but to sell his ancestral land. The impersonator reportedly posed as Vishal Sakariya at the sub-registrar’s office, helping others allegedly transfer his plot using forged documents without his knowledge.The man’s 40-year-old sister, Hema Sakariya, lodged a complaint at Pradyuman Nagar police station against Uttamsinh Rathod, Jayrajsinh Jadeja, Rahul Chavda, Deep Parsaniya and an unidentified person. Police registered a case under provisions of the BNS pertaining to cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.According to the complaint, Hema’s grandfather, Devji Sakariya, bequeathed a plot in Jayraj Plot, Street No. 4/11, to Hema’s younger brother, Vishal Sakariya, through a will dated April 8, 1993. Vishal moved to Canada for employment on April 6, 2023, and has not returned to India since. Hema claimed that he never sold the property to anyone.The alleged fraud came to light in Feb, when Hema visited the plot and found foundation work underway. A man at the site told her that the land had been purchased from Uttamsinh Rathod, prompting her to check the sub-registrar’s records.The complaint states that a sale deed registered on Aug 12, 2024, transferred 64.3 sq m of land forming part of City Survey No. 1142 to Rathod and Jadeja. Vishal was in Canada at the time of the transaction.Hema alleged that the accused used false affidavits and forged documents, while an unidentified person impersonated Vishal during registration. Information obtained through the Economic Offences Wing reportedly indicated that video footage showed the alleged impersonator being identified as Vishal by two witnesses.The property was subsequently sold to Kalpesh Gadhiya and Bharat Gadhiya. Hema alleged that the accused conspired to usurp her brother’s property. After Vishal granted her power of attorney on Jan 10, she approached the police seeking legal action.
