Mohali, June 23 -- Months after it surfaced that nearly 68 bighas and 14 biswas of shamlat land (common land) in Dera Bassi's Ballopur village, which was leased out to Universal Educational Society (UES), was mortgaged to raise loans in violation of lease conditions, police booked a former sarpanch, two former panchayat members and the president of the educational society for cheating and forgery.

The society, which runs the Universal Group of Institutions in Lalru, had been allotted the land for 33 years by the Punjab government for educational purposes. An inquiry by the district development and panchayat officer (DDPO), Mohali, later revealed that the accused had interpolated the original lease deed by inserting a provision that permi...