DGP orders CID probe into Ara land scam

Kumar Rajiv Nayan

Ara : Director General of Police (DGP) P K Thakur, on the recommendation of Inspector General of Police (IG), Patna Zone,  Nayyar Hasnain Khan, has ordered a CID inquiry into the fraudulent sale and purchase of about 170 decimal of government (Kaisar-e-Hind) land near Methodist Church of India adjacent to Ramana Maidan and MMP ground under Town police station, Ara, headquarters of Bhojpur district.

The CID will very soon take over the inquiry of the fraudulent sale and purchase of the land from the police. With it, some former senior officials of the district could be on CID radar as their names were dragged too in the land scam.  During the visit of CM Nitish Kumar to Ara on January 30, 2017, as  part of his ‘Saath Nischay Yaatra’, the local MLA Anwar Alam had raised the issue of illegal sale and purchase of government land worth about Rs 14 crore by preparing fake documents and the CM had asked the senior officials to take action after thorough investigation into the matter.

After seven months of investigation, a named FIR was lodged with Nawada police station, Ara, on the statement of SHO, Nawada police station, Neyaz Ahamad, against 22 land mafias including Chairman, Church of India, Aligarh, UP, Rev Johsar T. John, Namrata Singh, wife of then Registrar, Amarnath Singh of Babu Bazaar, Manju Singh, wife of Laloo Singh of village Haradiya under Jagdishpur block, Anku Singh and Anshu Kumar, sons of Amarnath Singh of Babu Bazaar, Laloo Singh of Haradiya, Adarsh Kumar and Birendra Prasad Singh, sons of Laloo Singh of Haradiya, Janardan Singh, owner of a hotel of Hari Ji Ka Hata, and his wife Meena Singh, and a sub-registrar Pradeep Kumar. The FIR  was lodged on the direction of the IG Nayyar Hasnain Khan

The Chairman, Church of India, Aligarh, UP Rev Johnsar T. John had no right to give power of attorney to anyone but he gave power of Attorney to Namrata Singh, wife of Amarnath Singh, the then Registrar and resident of Babu Bazzar under Town Police Station, and Manju Singh, wife of Laloo Singh of Haradiya village under Jagdishpur police station, who sold out 170 decimal of land of khata no 1766 and khesara no 2600 and 2601 to 15 persons mostly their family members and relatives by preparing 16 deeds.

At least 13 registries were done on October 7, 2016, two on November 15, 2016, and one on January 18, 2017.  It was also revealed that papers of 13 registries were prepared on the same day.

The IG said that the role of senior officials of the district in the land scam was dubious and so the former Bhojpur DM Birendra Prasad Yadav, DDC Inayat Khan and sub-registrar, Pramod Kumar, Singh are under scanner. He said that the sale and purchase of Kaisar-e-Hind land is banned but the land was sold fraudulently right under the nose of the officials. He had also found the role of the outgoing SP Kshatranil Singh unsatisfactory as he had not issued orders to lodge FIR in the land scam for a long despite his direction. The IG had then ordered the former SP to fix responsibility of officials responsible for negligence but he remained silent for over a month.