LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Jan. 28: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has expedited its probe into Indian Army land scam in Ranchi and the agency is learnt to have questioned Jharkhand-based infrastructure developer and businessman Vishnu Agrawal.
Besides Vishnu Agrawal, the ED is learnt to have examined two senior revenue officials regarding the sale and purchase of huge patches of land in Ranchi either owned or under control of the Indian Army.
Ranchi is among the important bases of the Indian Army and over the years a large chunk of land was allegedly encroached and fraudulently sold off.
Well placed sources said that Vishnu Agrawal was questioned till late Friday evening (January 27) and he was mainly asked about how he purchased a patch of prime land located at Siramtoli Chowk.
The ED also questioned key revenue officials who had verified and executed sale and purchase of the said land. In February 2018, Vishnu Agrawal had purchased a land measuring 3.75 acres from Mahua Mitra and Sanjay Kumar Ghosh and paid Rs. 24.37 Crore. This is a prime land located at Siramtoli Chowk and the land is under occupation of the Indian Army. Later on, Vishnu Agrawal claimed the ownership of the land on the basis of the land registry.
Vishnu Agrawal is originally a native of Jhalda in West Bengal who made a phenomenal rise in business in Jharkhand in the last one and half decade. He owns Nucleus Mall, a big shopping complex in Ranchi located on Circular Road near Ranchi Women’s College.
Both Mahua Mitra and Sanjay Kumar are said to be the native of West Bengal. The ED suspects that the land records were tampered with help of officials to change ownership of the said land.
Notably, the anti-money laundering federal agency in November last year had raided the premises of Vishnu Agrawal and another Kolkata-based businessman Amit Agrawal in connection with the army land scam. This was related to the alleged grab of 4.55 acres of land of the Indian Army at Bariatu in Ranchi. During the raid, the ED seized certain land documents from premises of Vishnu Agrawal including Siramtoli based land.
Well-placed sources in the agency have said that they got inputs and documents hinting to a mega land scam where the land of the Indian Army and private persons were fraudulently sold and purchased.
How land assets of the army at Bariatu were grabbed?
Records suggest that the said land is situated under Bargain block, Mauja Morabadi, police station number 192 and ward 21. The land was originally registered in the name of Pramod Nath Das Gupta which was later on transferred to his heir Jayant Karnad.
The land witnessed many legal and administrative judgments and orders from 1967 onward for the claim of rent and occupancy rights. As per the record, the said land has been under occupation of the Indian Army since April 1943 and the Indian Army used to pay the rental to the owner. In 2007 Jayant Karnad moved a Writ Petition (1903/2007) before the High Court for the release of his property from the occupation of the Indian Army. The High Court on October 22, 2008 ordered the Indian Army to deposit the rent in the favour of Jayant Karnad up to the period of November 2008.
In March 2009, the court ordered in the favour of Jayant Karnad and ordered the army to vacate his land.
The Defense Estate Officer of the Indian Army filed an L.P.A. (205/2009), Interlocutory Application (7440/2017) and CMP (282/2017) against the order of the court. But the court ruled in the favour of the petitioner and did not grant any relief to the Indian Army.
But despite that the land remained under possession of the Indian Army. It is evident from the fact that Jayant Karnad sold out land to 13 different people in 2019. The circle officer of Bargain block refused to execute transfer of the ownership of the land to the purchaser on the ground that said land was under occupation of the Indian Army, not the seller even if he is the owner.