Morbi Farmer Accuses GETCO Officials of Cheating, Forgery in HT Line Installation
A 61-year-old farmer from Morbi district has filed a formal complaint with the Maliya Miyana police station against officials of the state-run Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (GETCO), alleging that they cheated him and forged documents to unlawfully erect a High Tension (HT) power line on his agricultural land without his consent.
The complainant, Jaysukh Ahir, a resident of Mota Dahisara village and a retired technical assistant from the Rajkot District Panchayat, told police that GETCO officials, led by Deputy Engineer J. M. Viramgama, approached him in 2018 saying that a 132 kV power transmission line would pass through the village and that a pole needed to be installed on his land. Ahir said he refused permission at the time.
However, Ahir later discovered during a visit to his field with his mother that the company had broken open the gate to his land, damaged his crops, and installed the HT pole without his approval. He also alleged that wires had been strung across his land in his absence, implying that the work was carried out covertly without his consent.
When Ahir sought information through a Right to Information (RTI) application regarding compensation for the land used, official records showed that 14 panchayat assessments dated between July 13 and July 17, 2018 recommended payment of ₹2.66 lakh in his name.
Ahir has claimed that he never signed any of the documents related to these assessments. According to the RTI papers, signatures attributed to him were reportedly obtained in the presence of the GETCO official Viramgama, with two individuals — Magan Maganbhai and Arjan Ramabhai — listed as witnesses.
Further investigation by the farmer revealed that the compensation money was actually paid to a person named Kachra Lakhabhai, who was falsely recorded as the landowner, according to Ahir’s complaint.
Police Action and Charges
Following Ahir’s complaint, the Maliya Miyana police registered a case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including:
- IPC §406 (criminal breach of trust),
- IPC §420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property),
- IPC §427 (mischief causing damage),
- IPC §114 (abettor present when offence is committed).
The case is now under investigation, and police are examining whether forged documents were used in the HT line work and whether any GETCO officials or intermediaries can be further held accountable.