Kerala Police chief caught in ‘property’ sale case, court attaches property
Thiruvananthapuram: Days after state police chief (SPC) Sheikh Darvesh Saheb was given a year’s extension by the Kerala government, a court here ordered the attachment of a property owned by his wife following a complaint of breach of contract.
The case pertains to a sale agreement entered by the wife of Saheb with Umar Sherief in June last year.
According to the agreement, the sale of 10.8 cents of land owned by Saheb’s wife in the city was to be bought by Sherief for Rs 74 lakh.
Sherief told the media that he first paid Rs 15 lakh and later Rs 10 lakh and then handed over Rs 5 lakh at the SPC’s office which Saheb acknowledged in receipt.
“Then when I asked for the original document, I later came to know that he had already pledged it with a commercial bank. Then, when I said I was no longer interested in the land and wanted the advance that I paid to be returned, he did not honour it despite several requests of mine. He said he can return the money only after he sold it to some other person,” said Sherief.
As his requests were repeatedly turned down, he approached a local court. After hearing the petition, the court decided to attach the property and ordered that when the money is returned, the attachment will be lifted.
However, Saheb claimed that after paying the advance, Sherief erected a compound wall in the property and later failed to pay the balance amount. The SPC said that it was he who had suffered a loss.
The state police chief said that he would fight the case legally.