Baramulla, April 11 -- Police in Baramulla on Thursday foiled a major land fraud attempt in Wussan Kunzer and arrested seven persons for allegedly impersonating government officials and land brokers to cheat a prospective buyer.

According to police, the accused had fabricated a false ownership claim over a piece of land and projected one of their associates as its lawful owner. To make the claim appear genuine, one of the accused posed as a Patwari while others pretended to be revenue officials and brokers.

The fraud came to light after police verified the claims and found the entire deal to be a pre-planned conspiracy aimed at cheating the complainant.

The complainant, Abdul Ahad Malik, had already paid a substantial amount before pol...