Robert Vadra to face CBI heat as probe to begin in Bikaner land deals case

Agencies
August 31, 2017

New Delhi, Aug 31: After registering a case against RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and AAP minister Satyendra Jain, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is now going to probe the land scam involving Robert Vadra, the son-in law of Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The CBI registered 18 FIRs on Wednesday after the BJP-led Rajasthan government asked for a probe into alleged land scams in Bikaner.

Separate FIRs were registered under several sections of IPC regarding a series of transactions of land allotted in lieu of Mahajan Firing range in Bikaner, of which Vadra's companies also made a few purchases and later sold them at a hefty profit. The case emerged in 2014 when the state cancelled 18 mutations, that is, transfer of ownership in Bikaner, after finding them to be illegal.

The land was illegally allotted or possessed in 2006-07 by some villagers who were "wrongfully" shown as farmers displaced by Mahajan Field Firing Range of the army.

Land Scam

While those who had actually lost the land were rehabilitated in the 90s, it was alleged that several parties, including Vadra's company, had purchased large amounts of land.

The CBI investigations are likely to land a few influential people from the region, including some Congress leaders, in trouble. Vadra came into the picture at a later stage and most of the land he purchased in the name of a few companies had already exchanged hands a few times.

At one point, he was the director of more than one company whose net land holding in that area exceeded land ceiling by a small margin, but he once clarified that the excess land was surrendered.

However, he faced the allegation of buying land on being sounded by Congress governments at the center and the state about proposed setting up of solar parks - which got the rock bottom land prices to skyrocket at once. Yet, the profit he made was estimated to be only a few crores - a meager amount compared to what his land deals in Gurugram are alleged to have yielded.

CBI Investigations to Bring Trouble

Some of the lands he sold were bought by the state's Congress leaders. The state government, according to home minister Gulab Chand Kataria, found it difficult to investigate the web of transactions and alleged violations. There were also allegations that Vadra had bought a lot more than what has been reported, but these claims remain unsubstantiated. This shows that either the Vasundhara Raje government in the state was reluctant to nail Vadra or it did not find enough substance to go after him and therefore decided to send the cases to the CBI. There have been a few arrests in the past, and CBI investigations are expected to bring trouble for many more.

This is why, Vadra may be interrogated by CBI and end up facing charges of wrongdoings such as buying from those who had bought it fraudulently or exceeding land ceiling at one point.

Vadra had earlier claimed that he was innocent and was being targeted. He took to Facebook to vent his ire and wrote, "Another attempt of malicious prosecution exposed. First, Rajasthan police filed a FIR on 26 August 2014. In 3 years, they filed the chargesheets, summoned documents, as also company officials, yet found not an iota of evidence. Neither the FIR nor the chargesheets accuse the companies associated with me in any manner whatsoever."

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News Network
March 14,2024

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The high-level committee on simultaneous elections, chaired by Ram Nath Kovind, on Thursday met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and submitted its report on 'One Nation, One Election'. The report comprises 18,626 pages.

Home Minister Amit Shah was also present at Rashtrapati Bhawan when Kovind led panel submitted the report.

"Simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies can be held in first step, followed by local body polls within 100 days in second step," reported PTI quoting the panel.

"Synchronised polls for all three tiers of government to improve governance architecture, in line with quest of aspirational India," it added.

The report has been submitted 191 days after the constitution of the panel on September 2, 2023.

It's further reported that the proposal also puts focus on having a singular electoral roll for holding Lok Sabha, state assembly and local body polls.

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News Network
March 28,2024

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Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

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News Network
March 26,2024

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Hyderabad: The K Chandrashekar Rao-led Bharat Rashtra Samithi faces big questions as shocking allegations of state police officers tapping the phones of then Opposition leaders in Telangana, including current Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, celebrities and businessmen come to the fore.

The surveillance, it is alleged, was also used to blackmail businessmen into contributing huge amounts to the BRS party fund.

The BRS is yet to respond to the allegations.

Three senior police officers have been arrested in this connection and a lookout notice issued against T Prabhakar Rao, former chief of the state intelligence bureau, who is reportedly in the US now.

Police have said two senior officers - Additional Superintendent of Police Bhujanga Rao and Additional Superintendent of Police Thirupathanna - have admitted to illegal surveillance and destruction of evidence.

According to reports, Ravi Paul, a technical consultant with the state intelligence bureau under the then BRS government, had allegedly helped import and set up phone-tapping equipment near the residence of Mr Reddy to listen in on his conversations.

The equipment, it is alleged, was imported from Israel using a software company as the front. No permission from the Centre - a must for such imports - was taken, it is learnt. With this setup, anything spoken within a range of 300 metres could be heard, reports say.

Ravi Paul, it is alleged, set up an office near Mr Reddy's residence and installed the device. Police are set to question him in this connection.

Lookout notices have also been issued for Sharvan Rao, who runs a Telugu TV channel I News, and Radha Kishan Rao, a police officer with the city task force.

The surveillance was not restricted to Opposition leaders. Top businessmen, including real estate dealers and jewellers, and celebrities were also under surveillance. In fact, the tapping of phone conversations led to the divorce of a celebrity couple, reports say.

To add to the BRS's troubles, Chief Minister Reddy has received a complaint from Sharan Chaudhary, a businessman and a BJP leader, alleging that senior police officers kidnapped him last year and forced him to sign off a plot of land to a relative of former minister and BRS leader Errabelli Dayakar Rao.

Mr Chaudhury has alleged that Radha Kishan Rao and senior police officer ACP Umamaheswara Rao kidnapped him on August 21 while he was on his way to office. He has alleged that he was illegally detained and forced to register his property in the name of Vijay, a close relative of the minister. He was also forced to pay ₹ 50 lakh before they let him go.

The businessman has said he had approached the High Court after the incident, but Uma Maheshwar Rao threatened to file false cases against him and forced him to withdraw the petition.

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