Telangana Land Scam Exposed: 15 Held in Dharani–Bhu Bharati Fraud

A major scam that has shaken Telangana’s land administration system has come to light. Police arrested 15 people for allegedly committing irregularities in the land registration process through the Dharani and Bhu Bharati portals, causing an estimated ₹3.9 crore loss to the government. The fraud occurred in Jangaon and Yadadri Bhuvanagiri districts.

According to Warangal Police Commissioner Sunpreet Singh , the accused manipulated 1,080 land registration documents , leading to the registration of 22 criminal cases —seven in Jangaon and fifteen in Yadadri districts. Police said nine more accused are absconding , and efforts are underway to trace them.

During the investigation, police seized ₹63.19 lakh in cash , ₹1 lakh in bank deposits , property documents worth nearly ₹1 crore , along with a car, laptops, desktop computers, and 17 mobile phones used in the fraud.

Investigators found that the prime accused operated online service centers , collecting money from farmers and manipulating the challan generation process on the Dharani and Bhu Bharati portals to reduce payable amounts. Fake challans and altered government receipts were allegedly submitted through intermediaries at local MRO and registration offices, resulting in significant revenue loss.

Police said the accused earned easy money by bypassing Mee-Seva centers and paying 10–30 percent commissions to service operators and middlemen. The scam has triggered a major debate, especially as it emerged during the transition from the Dharani system under the previous BRS government to the Bhu Bharati portal launched by the present Congress government.