SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Sept 1: In a major crackdown on land scamsters, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) today provisionally attached three land parcels worth Rs 161.64 Crore (Commercial Value) situated at Chesire Home Road, Pugru and Siram, all in Ranchi in the Ranchi land scam case. These land parcels have been mutated fraudulently in favour of land mafias in connivance with the officers of the Land Revenue Department.
The ED also filed another prosecution complaint (equivalent to a chargesheet) in the land scam case against ex-Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan and businessman Bishnu Agarwal among others.
Earlier, a prosecution complaint in this case had been filed on June 12 last.
According to a press communique, the ED had initiated investigation in three land scam cases on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Jharkhand Police and the West Bengal Police against Pradip Bagchi, Bishnu Kumar Agarwal, Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others under various sections of IPC.
The ED investigation revealed that a huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by mafia is going on in Jharkhand. These criminal elements used to forge the legacy records in Kolkata & Ranchi. It is also revealed that ownership records of land have also been forged by the unscrupulous government officers to extend favours to the said land mafia. Subsequently, on the basis of forged land records, such land parcels are sold to other persons. The ED had earlier carried out 41 searches & 5 surveys in this matter and various incriminating evidences such as forged seals of Land Revenue Department, forged land deeds, records of distribution of Proceeds of Crime among them, photographs of forgery, evidences of giving bribe to Government officials etc. were seized.
Earlier, the ED had provisionally attached three land parcels worth Rs. 74.39 Crore (Commercial Value) in another land scam case. With the current attachment, the total attachment in land scam cases reached to Rs 236 Crore. Till date, 14 accused namely Pradip Bagchi, Afshar Ali, Saddaam Hussain, Imtiaz Ahmed, Talha Khan, Faiyaaz Khan, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Chhavi Ranjan, (Ex- DC Ranchi), Dilip Kumar Ghosh, Amit Kumar Agarwal, Bishnu Kumar Agarwal, Rajesh Rai, Bharat Prasad and Prem Prakash have been arrested and are presently in Judicial custody.
