The Thane collector has ordered a high-level probe into the scam wherein a septuagenarian tribal woman’s details were fraudulently used to get Rs 90-lakh government compensation for land. The development comes hours after mid-day reported how the tribal woman’s photo and biometrics were used to make fake documents in the name of a dead woman to claim the money. It is suspected that some insiders from the Bhiwandi Sub-Divisional Office (SDO) may be involved in the fraud. Thane Collector Ashok Shingare told mid-day, “An inquiry has been initiated into the matter and action will be taken within the ambit of law.”

The victim, Bhagirathi Rama Mukne, a 73-year-old resident of Dugad village in Bhiwandi, was duped by fraudsters who used her details to impersonate Thaki Sakya Savar who died in 2011. Savar owned two pieces of land measuring 1,500 square metre each, which were acquired by the government for Mumbai-Vadodara Highway works. Savar’s land parcels were in the same village as Mukne, who lives in a dilapidated house.