LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, April 14: Thieves always leave their mark, goes an old adage.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has detected some glaring discrepancies in the documents forged by land sharks to grab the prime land in Ranchi under possession of the Indian Army.
One Pradeep Bagchi whom the ED arrested last night claimed as rightful owner of 4.55 acres of land produced a document to show that in the year 1932 his father had purchased the said land from raiyats and the registry was held at the Kolkata land registry office.
The documents mention the state as West Bengal whereas in 1932 it was only Bengal. West Bengal came into existence in 1947. Similarly, at several places in the document PIN Code has been mentioned along with address of witnesses, seller and purchaser. The Postal Index Number (PIN) was introduced on August 15, 1972.
At one place district Bhojpur has been mentioned as native district of one of the witnesses of this sale deed. However, Bhojpur came into existence in 1972.
The copy of that ‘fake’ document was also said to have been interpolated in the land records of the Kolkata registry office.
Now the ED has decided to conduct forensic tests of all such documents as well as land registers of Kolkata registrar office to ascertain aging of pages, inks and others to make it a proof of forgery.
Notably, the ED took up this case for investigation and carried out a nationwide raid against the then Ranchi DC and IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, land brokers and many revenue officials.
Even the inquiry ordered by South Chhotanagpur Divisional Commissioner Nitin Madan Kulkarni has stated that 4.55 acres of land in Ranchi currently under possession of the Indian Army, but owned by Jayant Karnad, was fraudulently sold out to one Dilip Ghosh by Pradeep Bagchi.
The inquiry was ordered in the wake of a complaint lodged by national general secretary of Akhil Bhartiya Anusuchit Jati Mahasabha, Upendra Kumar in November 2021. Kolkata-based Dilip Ghosh is the director of Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Private Limited and he is learnt to have a close connection in the power corridors of Jharkhand.
The inquiry conducted by the Deputy Director (Welfare) has said that a fake document (registration number 4369/19932) of the ownership of the said land was created in favour of the seller Pradeep Bagchi.
“Prima facie the allegation is found true that the sale of the land was executed in a fraudulent manner” on October 1, 2021, the inquiry report states.
“It is a prime land situated in the heart of the city under the occupation of the Indian Army. It is very surprising that after the said purchase Bagchis never turned to any court against the occupation of their land by the Indian Army or to demand rent. 90 years later, all of a sudden, Pradeep Bagchi came and sold the land to Dilip Kumar Ghosh, director of Jagatbandhu Tea Estate. It creates strong doubts,” the report states.
Brief history of land
As per the record, 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 rightful legal heir Jayant Karnad.
The land witnessed many legal judgments and administrative orders from 1967 onward for the claim of rent and occupancy rights. As per the record, the said land has been in 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 when Jayant Karnad sold out land to 13 different people in 2019. The circle officer of Bargain block refused to execute the transfer of the ownership of the land to the purchaser on the ground that said land was under the occupation of the Indian Army not the seller even if he is the owner.
Other findings of inquiry report
Replying to the documents, the inquiry officer said that judgments and administrative orders between 1967 and 2017 related to this land leave no doubt as to who is the rightful owner.
“The high court judgment clearly states that the land must be released in favour of the heirs of Munjeswar Lakshman Rao (maternal grandson of Pramod Nath Das Gupta). The land is under the possession of the Indian Army. But despite that sale was allowed to be executed which is very doubtful,” the report states.
The inquiry officer stated that Pradeep Bagchi claimed that land mafias sold out his land by forging fake documents. The Indian Army was only verbally asked to use his land. Suh claims are bogus.
The inquiry report has claimed that Bagchi fraudulently obtained a holding number from Ranchi Municipal Corporation in April 2021 for which he used the documents (electricity bill) which belong to somebody else. He did all these to prove himself as the rightful owner.
