Lucknow: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered four FIRs against officials managing enemy properties for leasing out over 71 hectares of prime commercial land in Uttar Pradesh at nominal rates by showing them as ponds. Officials gave this information.
He said the alleged scam pertains to enemy properties that were abandoned by those who took Chinese and Pakistani citizenship in Lucknow, Barabanki and Sitapur. Enemy property is currently with the Conservator of Enemy Property of India (CEPI).
Officials said the agency raided 40 places in Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Noida, Bulandshahr and Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh in this connection. He said the central agency has filed a complaint against the then acting custodian of Enemy Property of India (CEPI) in Delhi Samandar Singh Rana, Utpal Chakraborty, assistant conservator and Ramesh Chandra Tiwari, a retired supervisor (both based in Lucknow) under Section 120 of the Indian Penal Code. -B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 471 (forgery) and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to bribery.
Apart from this, the CBI has also accused 41 beneficiaries in four FIRs – two FIRs were registered in Lucknow unit while two other FIRs were registered in Ghaziabad unit. Enemy property vested with CEPI is the abandoned property of Indians who took citizenship of China and Pakistan after the war. The government took over these properties after their migration and change of nationality under the Defense of India Act, 1962.
According to the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs, ‘enemy property’ includes property which was held by an enemy person or enemy company during the period from September 10, 1965 to September 26, 1977 and shall be governed by the Enemy Property Rules, 2015. treated as enemy property in accordance with the stringent provisions of the Act.’
It states that the assets of Chinese and Pakistani nationals or companies are held by CEPI as enemy property. The FIR states that CEPI officials allegedly colluded with the beneficiaries by “manipulating and cheating the lease agreements in favor of the lessees” and leasing them out without agreements. It also alleged that the leases were regularized through unauthorized out-of-court settlement and other illegal means by waiving off lease rental arrears without the approval of the central government, leading to loss of revenue to the government.
He said one of the beneficiaries was Ramesh Chandra Tiwari’s brother Avinash Tiwari, who was posted in the state revenue department. Tiwari was given a lease of eight acres of mango orchard land with 177 trees at an annual rate of Rs 5,000, as per the investigation conducted by CEPI, against its market rate of Rs 5.55 lakh per annum.
A CBI spokesperson said about the FIR registered at the Ghaziabad unit, “Public servants in conspiracy with private persons have leased out large tracts of prime high value land of about 17 hectares located in Noida Extension, Gautam Budh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Kasganj etc. But by giving huge financial loss to the exchequer.
The CBI has alleged that the said plots were given on very nominal rent, which allowed illegal construction to the private builder and lease agreements were entered into in the case of enemy properties.
