Chandigarh, Jan 21 (IANS): Three persons, including two advocates, have been arrested on the charge of involvement in the sale of two acres of land 'acquired' through fraudulent means in Gurugram district to a private company, causing loss of crores of rupees to the state exchequer.

Director General of Police Manoj Yadava told the media that the land in Islampur village, acquired by Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) in 1993, was sold to a private company for Rs 2 crore on the basis of "fake and forged documents and witnesses".

He said that to make a quick buck, accused Rohit Thakran of Jharsa village and Ajay Chaudhary of Islampur village hatched a plan and got the land transferred in the name of Ajay by producing fake witnesses, who impersonated Murti Devi, Lakshmi Devi and Bala Devi, the original owners of two acres of the ancestral property.

Lawyers Chaman Lal Arora and Subhash Chand Arora, who 'identified' the 'owners' were also arrested.

The fraud came to light when Murti Devi of Gupta Colony in Gurugram filed a police complaint. State Crime Branch (Gurugram Unit) later arrested Thakran and the Aroras.

The probe revealed that mastermind Thakran had learnt the work of 'patwari' and was aware of the acquired land.

Chaudhary allegedly transferred Rs 29 lakh out of the Rs 2 crore sale proceeds to the bank account of Thakran. The accounts used to receive sale proceeds were opened by Chaudhary on the basis of different PAN numbers.

Investigation found that Thakran was involved in other crimes also, including liquor smuggling. Chaudhary was involved in the killing of a Rajasthan Police Constable in 2006, police said.