Five Accused on the Run as Police Hunt Syndicates Behind ₹28.45 Lakh Rent Scam

• by Akanksha Mishra
• 2026-10-03 16:14:00

In one of the most audacious real estate fraud cases unearthed in western Uttar Pradesh, the Moradabad Police have intensified manhunts across multiple districts to capture five absconding accused who orchestrated a meticulous 23-year conspiracy to seize the official residence of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). Operating through fabricated title deeds, counterfeit municipal entries, and manipulated land records, real brothers Sunil Kumar Dhawan and Sudhir Kumar Dhawan claimed ownership over high-value public and private properties, illegally pocketing ₹28.45 lakh in rent over a span of 19 years. While the two primary conspirators and an associate, Mudit Dhawan, were arrested earlier, five key syndicate members—Sumit Dhawan, Ankit Dhawan, Sudha Tandon, Vipin Kumar Dhawan, and Delhi resident Beena Talwar—remain at large a month into the crackdown, prompting senior officers to deploy specialized surveillance squads to track them down.

Anatomy of an Audacious Grab: Forged Municipal Records and a Four-Member Inquiry Committee

The systematic operation to claim the district police chief's official bungalow began unraveling after an administrative investigation exposed the scale of the deceit:

Two Decades of Coordinated Deception: According to police records, the Dhawan brothers spent 23 years building a paper trail of fraudulent ownership claims over the premier administrative bungalow, enlisting family associates and outsiders to create fake registries.

₹28.45 Lakh Extracted in Unlawful Rent: Leveraging fraudulent paperwork, the syndicate collected ₹28.45 lakh in rental sums over 19 years before administrative scrutiny caught up with the transaction history.

Administrative Probe Unmasks Fake Papers: Following an official complaint in 2024, a high-level four-member inquiry committee conducted a forensic audit of revenue registers, nagar nigam municipal records, and archival colonial-era government documents, concluding that every document presented by the claimants was forged.

First FIR Filed in April 2024: Based on a complaint lodged by the Reserve Inspector (RI) following earlier inquiries by then-SI Rakam Singh, the Civil Lines Police Station registered the initial FIR against Sunil and Sudhir Dhawan, leading to a comprehensive charge sheet.

Trail of Land Grabs: Awas Vikas Colony Plot and the Attempted Takeover of 'Chadha Kothi'

Investigative disclosures revealed that the syndicate targeted multiple private estates across Moradabad using the same playbook:

The Awas Vikas Colony Fraud: A second criminal case was lodged by Umeshchandra, a resident of Awas Vikas Colony, accusing Sudhir Kumar Dhawan, Sunil Kumar Dhawan, and Rajiv Agarwal of attempting to grab his land using forged deeds. Investigators have filed a charge sheet in this case as well.

Targeting Prime 'Chadha Kothi': In June 2026, the syndicate attempted to assert false ownership over the prominent 'Chadha Kothi' estate. Property owner Indrajit Singh Chadha registered an FIR on June 6 against eight individuals, following which the police arrested co-accused Mudit Dhawan and sent him to judicial custody.

Fresh July 2026 FIR Against Eight Conspirators: On July 11, 2026, Senior Sub-Inspector (SSI) Harendra Singh of Civil Lines Police Station registered a fourth case against eight people—including the Dhawan brothers, Vallabh Mohalla residents Sumit Dhawan, Ankit Dhawan, Sudha Tandon, Vipin Kumar Dhawan, and Shalimar Bagh (Delhi) resident Beena Talwar.

Manhunt Underway: SP City Kumar Ranvijay Singh Warns Absconders of Severe Legal Action

With five key associates evading arrest for over a month, law enforcement authorities are preparing non-bailable warrants and attachment proceedings:

Active Raids Across State Borders: Superintendent of Police (City) Kumar Ranvijay Singh affirmed that dedicated police teams are conducting coordinated raids across western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Delhi to apprehend Sumit Dhawan, Ankit Dhawan, Sudha Tandon, Vipin Kumar Dhawan, and Beena Talwar.

Strict Criminal Charges: Police officials emphasized that charge sheets have already been submitted for the April 2024 and 2025 cases, while investigations into the twin cases registered in June and July 2026 are progressing rapidly to secure maximum judicial convictions against the land syndicate.

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