Forged land documents: ED attaches 3 plots worth Rs 162 crore in Ranchi

Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has temporarily attached three plots worth over Rs 161.64 crore (commercial price) located at Cheshire Home Road, Pugru, and Siram in Ranchi. With the connivance of the officials of the Land Revenue Department, these lands have been mutated in favour of the land mafia.
The ED had initiated investigation in three land scam cases on the basis of several FIRs lodged by Jharkhand Police and West Bengal Police against Pradeep Bagchi, Vishnu Kumar Aggarwal, Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others under various Sections of IPC.
ED investigation has revealed that the mafia is running a big fraud to change the ownership of land illegally in Jharkhand. These criminal elements used to make a settled record in Kolkata and Ranchi.
It has also been learned that the ownership records of land have also been made fake by dishonest government officials to benefit the said land mafia. After this, such lands are sold to other persons on the basis of fake land records.
ED had earlier conducted 41 searches and 5 surveys in this case and various evidences such as fake seal of Land Revenue Department, fake land documents, records of distribution of crime among them, photographs of forgery, evidence of bribing the government etc. and seized them.
Earlier, the ED temporarily attached three land worth crores of rupees. In another land scam case, 74.39 crore (commercial price) has reached the total attachment of Rs 236 crore in the land scam cases with current attachment.
So far, 14 accused include Pradeep Bagchi, Adhikari Ali, Saddam Hussain, Imtiaz Ahmed, Talha Khan, Fayaz Khan, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Chitra Ranjan, IAS (former DC Ranchi), Dilip Kumar Ghosh, Amit Kumar Aggarwal, Vishnu Kumar Aggarwal.
Rajesh Rai, Bharat Prasad and Prem Prakash have been arrested and are currently in judicial custody. Earlier on March 12, prosecution complaint was filed. Today, another prosecution complaint has been filed by the ED in the land scam case.