Idukki court rejects police report acquitting ex-MP Joice George in land grab case

Joice George has been accused of grabbing and encroaching 28 acres of government land in Idukki.
Idukki court rejects police report acquitting ex-MP Joice George in land grab case
Idukki court rejects police report acquitting ex-MP Joice George in land grab case
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Former Idukki MP Joice George is in trouble again after the Thodupuzha sessions court rejected a police report which acquitted him in a land grab case near Kottakamboor close to Munnar.

A report submitted by the DySP of Munnar, Abhilash, which stated that Joice was not guilty, was rejected by the court. The report also added that there were no differences in the fingerprints in the documents such as in the register of the Devikulam Sub registrar and photocopies of land owners sent for fingerprint checking in Thiruvananthapuram to detect forgery.

The court added that sufficient documents and evidence were not available for investigating the case.

The report prepared by the Munnar police stated that Joice’s father had bought the land and the ex-MP had procured the ‘pattayam’ from the government then. The report also sought permission to wind up the case.

Against this argument, the prosecution stated that the police report was prepared due to the heavy influence by Joice on the Munnar police to close the case without a proper probe. Joice was Idukki MP during the police investigation.

In addition to rejecting the report, the Thodupuzha sessions court judge asked for follow-up investigation and a new report to be prepared in the case. Idukki Superintendent of Police P Narayanan, added that a follow-up will be conducted once the court order is received.

The issue started over a year ago when two social activists alleged that MP Joice George has grabbed land near Kottakamboor in Idukki. The complainants alleged that Joice had procured the land by producing forged documents.

Former Devikulam sub collector VR Premkumar had in 2017, cancelled the title deed of 28 acres of land owned by Joice George and his family after he found that government land had been encroached by using fake title deeds in the Vattavada panchayat in Munnar.

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