Mulund fake land entry case: FIR filed after revenue minister's notice

An old case involving government land records in Mumbai's Mulund area has resurfaced. After an inquiry into allegedly disputed mutation entries made during 2013 and 2015, and the documents linked to them, Mulund West police station registered crime number 1091/2026 on September 11, 2026, and began investigating. According to the FIR, the case relates to events between 2013 and 2015 and invokes several serious sections.

It is learnt that Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule took cognizance of the entire matter and directed that the alleged irregularities be investigated and an FIR registered. Circle officer Sagar Bhimrao Bhalerkar has been named as the suo motu complainant in the case. As per the complaint, a case has been registered against Archana Bhalla, Manish Bawa, Sumit Bawa, N.A. Patkar and the person who was the Ghatkopar circle officer at the time.

Earlier, Ashiq Amirali Merchant had for a long time been questioning these mutation entries and documents and demanding an inquiry from the administration. Available records also show that a complaint was filed at Mulund police station on this matter on August 25, 2025. The matter then reached the revenue administration and an inquiry into the entries concerned began.

At the centre of the dispute are mutation entries numbered 5186 and 5286. The complaint cites old court records and documents from 1991 and raises questions over the entries subsequently made in revenue records based on them. Survey number 1000 in Mulund and the plot linked to it are also said to be part of the inquiry. The complainant side alleges that government records were altered on the basis of certain documents, while the authenticity and validity of those very documents have been seriously questioned.

The inquiry will now seek answers to who prepared these documents, how they reached the revenue office, who verified their authenticity, on what basis the mutation entries were made, and who played what role in the entire process. The FIR includes sections 193, 196, 201, 204, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The investigation has been handed to Police Inspector Mayadevi Sukumar Kalgawe.

This is what makes the case more serious. Had it simply been a dispute over land ownership between two parties, it would have looked different. But here the allegations extend to changes allegedly made in official revenue records on the basis of purportedly incorrect documents. If the allegations are proved in the inquiry, the case will not remain limited to a private land dispute, and the entire administrative process of preparing, verifying and altering revenue records could come under scrutiny.

The case is being described as one of the biggest land or revenue scams in Maharashtra so far, though the FIR and documents available at present do not conclusively establish this claim. It would therefore be more accurate for now to treat it as an inquiry into alleged large-scale irregularities. The original mutation file, related applications, orders, officials' entries, conveyance deeds, old court documents, correspondence and other revenue records will be key to the investigation.