# UP Police Arrest Six, Sack Former SDM Over 1,144-Bigha Government Land Fraud in Sambhal > Police in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh have arrested six people, including sacked former SDM Omveer Singh, in a fraud case involving 1,144 bigha of government land along the Ganga river that was illegally transferred to other people's names. **Type:** article · **Category:** Uttar Pradesh · **Published:** 2026-07-03 · **Source:** TrendKia **Canonical:** https://trendkia.com/en/uttar-pradesh/sambhal-men-ganga-kinare-ki-1144-bigha-jamina-ghotale-men-pulisa-ka-shiknja-chhaha-giraphtara-4469 · **Language:** English **Tags:** Sambhal land scam, SDM sacked, Ganga riverside government land, Gunnaur tehsil, consolidation scam, Uttar Pradesh police A major government land fraud has come to light in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district. Police allege that 1,144 bigha of valuable government land along the banks of the Ganga river was fraudulently transferred into other people's names. The then SDM, Omveer Singh, had already been sacked from his job for his involvement in the scam. Police have now arrested six people in total, including Omveer Singh, government lawyer Jai Bhardwaj and former gram pradhan Vikrant, and sent them to jail. The action has caused an uproar within the revenue department, which maintains land records. ## Fake documents used to allot land in Gunnaur tehsil villages The case is centred on the villages of Asadpur, Sukhaila and surrounding areas under Gunnaur tehsil. Valuable government land of the jhau category existed here along the Ganga, and it was at the time under the consolidation, or chakbandi, process. According to police, land mafia elements colluded with certain officials to prepare fake documents for this land and got leases sanctioned illegally. As soon as the irregularity came to light, a case was registered at Gunnaur police station on July 2 based on a complaint filed by lekhpal Swati Sharma. A total of 19 people have been named in the FIR under serious sections covering fraud, forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. ## Land was reallotted in 2019 by bypassing the rules The investigation turned up a startling detail. In 2018, documents related to the same land had already been cancelled in this very case, and cases had been registered against several people. Despite this, in 2019 the then SDM Omveer Singh misused his position and approved leases again in the names of 162 people. The investigation committee's report also found that necessary rules were completely bypassed this time while distributing the land. No open gram sabha meeting was held, no consent was taken from residents, and no lottery was conducted to allot the leases. Beyond that, major discrepancies were also found in the land shares and in the count of beneficiaries. ## Arrests began as soon as the probe report arrived On June 4, 2026, a special investigation committee submitted its report to the District Magistrate. Police began rounding up the accused as soon as the report came in. On Friday, police arrested five people, including sacked SDM Omveer Singh, former government lawyer Jai Bhardwaj, the then chakbandi lekhpal Bhimrao Singh, former kanungo Rajveer Singh and sacked chakbandi officer Mahendra Singh. All of them were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate's court, from where they were sent to jail. Police say raids are continuing to nab the remaining accused, and the role of several other suspected officials is also being closely examined. ## What this means for you - **Across India:** The case signals stricter legal action against officials and land mafias who collude to fraudulently allot government land, a warning for similar scams elsewhere in the country. - **In Sambhal:** Residents of Gunnaur tehsil villages like Asadpur and Sukhaila, including the 162 people in whose names leases were approved in 2019, may now face further scrutiny of their land documents. ## Questions & Answers ### 1. How much government land is involved in the Sambhal fraud case? 1,144 bigha of government land along the Ganga river was allegedly transferred fraudulently into other people's names. ### 2. How many people have been arrested so far? Police have arrested six people in total, including then SDM Omveer Singh, government lawyer Jai Bhardwaj and former gram pradhan Vikrant, and sent them to jail. ### 3. Which area is this scam linked to? The case relates to Asadpur, Sukhaila and surrounding villages under Gunnaur tehsil, where jhau-category government land lay along the Ganga. ### 4. Whose complaint led to the FIR, and when was it filed? An FIR was registered at Gunnaur police station on July 2 based on a complaint by lekhpal Swati Sharma. ### 5. How many people in total are named as accused? A total of 19 people have been named in the FIR under sections covering fraud, forgery, cheating and criminal conspiracy. ### 6. In whose names was the land reallotted in 2019? Then SDM Omveer Singh misused his position and approved leases again in the names of 162 people. ### 7. When was the investigation committee's report submitted? The special investigation committee submitted its report to the District Magistrate on June 4, 2026. ### 8. Who are the five people arrested on Friday? The five arrested on Friday were SDM Omveer Singh, lawyer Jai Bhardwaj, chakbandi lekhpal Bhimrao Singh, kanungo Rajveer Singh and chakbandi officer Mahendra Singh. ### 9. What is police doing next in this case? Police are conducting raids to catch the remaining accused and are also closely examining the role of other suspected officials. --- _TrendKia — Har trend, sabse pehle.. Machine-readable view; canonical HTML at the URL above._