Nampally court remands businessman accused of Malakpet land-grabbing racket

A Nampally court on Tuesday remanded a 61-year-old Hyderabad businessman to 14-day judicial custody following his arrest for allegedly running a land-grabbing and extortion racket targeting an ancestral property in Malakpet. The accused, Mohammed Abdul Quddus, was apprehended by the Chaderghat police from his son’s residence in Ganganagar, Bengaluru, after fleeing Hyderabad.

The arrest followed a complaint registered by Mohammed Najamuddin Shakir, a Hyderabad-based businessman. Shakir alleged that Quddus had falsely claimed ownership over a portion of his family's ancestral property in Malakpet by using fabricated documents and forged stamp papers.

According to the police, Shakir's family had been in lawful possession of the Malakpet property for decades through registered sale deeds, gift settlements, and a will. The dispute began after the family obtained permission from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and commenced construction on the land in 2025.

Investigators revealed that Quddus utilized a forged Hibanama—a formal legal document under Muslim personal law used to record the voluntary transfer of property as a gift—to stake a claim on the property. He then initiated legal proceedings to create confusion over the ownership.

Following this, Quddus and his associates allegedly demanded ₹10 lakh from Shakir, threatening to implicate him in false criminal cases if the extortion money was not paid.

Police stated that Quddus is a habitual offender who specifically targeted properties advertised for sale or newly constructed buildings. His pattern involved creating forged ownership documents, filing civil suits, and using the threat of prolonged litigation to extort money from property owners.

Investigators suspect that Quddus has extorted nearly ₹40 lakh from multiple victims over the years using similar tactics. Police records indicate that Quddus has been named in several criminal cases registered by the Hyderabad police since 2014, including cheating, forgery, extortion, criminal intimidation, and conspiracy.

Further investigation is currently underway to identify other potential victims and examine additional property disputes linked to the accused.