Ludhiana, Aug. 2 -- Three persons have been booked for allegedly staging a theft in a bid to legitimise an encroachment on police land near Ludhiana Railway Station. Police alleged the accused orchestrated the incident and lodged a false theft complaint to create official records that could later be used to strengthen their claim over the property.

A fresh FIR, registered on August 1, names Abdul Rashid of Sadiana area in Malerkotla and his alleged associates, Indu Shekhar alias Kancha and Gulshan alias Gaggu, both residents of the Tyre Market area.

According to police, Rashid's family had been occupying the property since the 1950s and allegedly attempted to use fabricated criminal complaints to bolster its claim over the land.

The pr...