- By Akansha Pandey
- Sat, 30 Aug 2025 06:46 PM (IST)
- Source:Jagran News Network
The figure for the stamp scam has now crossed Rs 11.5 crore, and the number of fraudulent sale deeds executed under it has risen to 1,577. This entire fraud was exposed following the suspicion of a sub-registrar, who had a stamp paper used in a sale deed verified from the treasury, after which the layers of the case began to unfold.
Although the scam was uncovered in Meerut, the scope of its investigation has now spread to 15 districts of the state. In the investigation covering the period from 2020 to 2023, the use of suspect stamp papers worth Rs 7.5 crore was found in 999 sale deeds. A report was sought from the Kanpur treasury to trace the source of these stamp papers, as Kanpur is responsible for issuing stamp papers to all district treasuries across the state. The Kanpur treasury provided the names of the 15 districts and the serial numbers of the stamp papers that were sent to them and used in the scam. Following this, the names, addresses, and mobile numbers of the individuals to whom these stamps were issued were obtained from all these districts.
In recent months, the investigation into the stamp scam has gained momentum. When the administration attempted to recover the scam amount from the people who had executed the sale deeds, it was met with significant public protest. Subsequently, the police arrested the main accused, Vishal Verma, who is currently in jail. Now, the Estimates Committee of the Legislative Assembly is also investigating the matter and is verifying sale deeds registered in all districts of the state between 2015 and 2020. Some of the stamp papers used in these deeds have also been sent to the Nashik Press for verification.
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Stamps are distributed from the Kanpur treasury to the district treasuries. The Kanpur treasury informed the district administration that the stamp papers used in the 999 sale deeds under investigation were issued to 15 districts, with the majority being sent to Ghaziabad. A large number of these stamps were issued between 2009 and 2014. A report details over 1,500 stamps that were used in 462 of the sale deeds.
The Legislative Assembly's Estimates Committee is continuously reviewing the investigation of the scam. The committee has announced that the further investigation will be handed over to the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) so that the assets of the accused can also be confiscated. The committee has directed the registry and stamp officials to appoint one special officer each in Lucknow and Meerut to speed up the investigation. Additionally, instructions have been given to rapidly complete the verification of sale deeds executed between 2015 and 2020.