ED attaches properties of 4 accused in a case that involves Robert Vadra's firm

 Enforcement Directorate has attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 1.18 crore belonging to four of the accused in Bikaner land grab case.

The accused are Jai Prakash Bagarwa, Uma Charan Sharma - former Patwari, Fakir Mohammad - former Nayab Tehsildar and Mahaveer Swami - former patwari. They have been charged with fraudulently allotting government land on the basis of documents that were forged in the name of non-existing persons.

The allotted land was meant for the resettlement of persons, who were displaced for setting up of the Mahajan Field Firing Range of the Indian Army.

The land grab case dates back to 2009-11 when around 1,400 acres was acquired the government and sold to seven companies including Skylight Hospitality (SLH) - a firm connected to Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra.

It was alleged that Skylight Hospitality purchased a part of the land at the Mahajan Field Firing Range. However, the Robert Vadra's company was said to have been the third or the fourth party to purchase that piece of land.

ED ACTION IN BIKANER LAND GRAB CASE: THINGS TO KNOW

In this case, 18 FIRs were registered by Gajnerand Kolayat police station of Bikaner during August and September of 2014. The chargeheets was filed by police in August, 2015 against Jai Prakash Bagarwa, Uma Charan Sharma, Fakir Mohammad and Mahaveer Swami. On the basis of the FIRs and chargesheets, an investigation was taken up by the Enforcement Directorate in September 2015.

As per Enforcement Directorate investigation, Ranjit Singh and Jai Prakash stole some blank allotment letters with stamp on them from colonisation department (Bikaner). Patwaris told Jai Prakash about the khasra number, rakba and village name of government land. The stolen material was used for preparing forged and fabricated allotment letters in the name of the alleged displaced persons of the Mahajan Field Firing Range.

On the basis of



these forged allotment letters 1,422 Bigha land was recorded in revenue record (jamabandis) in the name of these fictitious allottees without due verification of these allotment letter from colonization department.

Jai Prakash and others prepared power of attorneys (Mukhtyar Nama) wherein the fictitious allottees gave power of attorney Kishore Singh, Ranjeet Singh and Gugangar for selling land on their behalf. About 1,372 bigha of impugned land was sold to various individuals and companies in this manner, the Enforcement Directorate said.

The Enforcement Directorate carried out searches at various premises of the key persons and their associates and seized incriminating documents. The ED said that the accused invested the illegally-earned money in several movable and immovable properties in the names of the self and their family members. The ED has made a case of money laundering against the accused.

The attached immovable properties include plots valued at Rs 94 lakh at Bikaner and Jaipur. These are agricultural, land plot and residential buildings in the names of Jai Prakash, his wife and two sons; Uma Charanand and his wife; and Mahveer Swami and his wife.

The attached movable properties of Rs 24 lakh are in the form FDRs and balances lying in bank accounts in the names of children of Fakir Mohammad, Mahaveer Swami and his wife.

In 2015, the Rajasthan government had cancelled the mutation (transfer of land) of 374.44 hectares of land. The government's action followed an investigation by the land department, which found that the allotments were made in the names of "illegal private persons".

Notice were been issued to the firm Skylight Hospitality by ED under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

As per the Bikaner administration, the land grab issue started with wrong representation of some people falsely identified as farmers, who were displaced by the Mahajan Field Firing Range of the Army.