THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A former village officer was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment in a case of abetting the mutation of property that was done through impersonation. Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court convicted Soman Kurup, the former village officer of Pathanamthitta.

In addition to imprisonment, the court order says that he should pay a fine of Rs 25,000. The verdict comes in a case related to the mutation of property that took place in 2005.

According to the findings, the accused helped in the mutation of property of 24 cents of land that belonged to Sajida Habibullah. The 24-cent land was located in the Pathanamthitta Ring Road area.

Sajida was abroad at the time of this incident. It was actually another woman named Sabina who appeared before the Sub-Registrar of Pathanamthitta, tricking the officials into believing that she was the owner. It is reported that Soman Kurup knew about the fraud and decided to help Sabina.

Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance Court found the accused guilty in the incident. The first accused Soman was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000 while the other accused Sabina was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000.