CBI lens over Rs 100-crore land scam bid near Chandigarh

A 100-year-old trust’s desperate attempt to save its 8-acre plot worth Rs 100 crore in Punjab’s Zirakpur, close to Chandigarh, from land sharks has sent the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a hunt for conspirators who not only forged documents related to the Delhi-based trust but allegedly also used goons to forcibly take possession of a portion of the prime piece of land.

The probe agency has started recording statements of key players in the multi-crore rupee land scam which was brought to light by complainant and Trust manager Harjit Singh.
The CBI has filed an FIR and taken over the probe into a complaint given by Guru Nanak Vidya Bhandar Trust, Daryaganj, New Delhi, to state police who registered an FIR in the matter in March 2022 under penal provisions of forgery, trespass, rioting, intimidation and conspiracy. The accused mentioned in the FIR included Sanjeev Kumar Gaba, Rajesh Kumar Gaba, Rajinder Kumar and Sarabjit Singh.

CBI investigators have not ruled out the possibility of using lie-detection test on the accused if they fail to co-operate during questioning.
At the heart of the controversy lies a huge chunk of land owned by a Charitable Trust situated at the periphery of Chandigarh which has now become a prized possession keeping in view the exponential rise in prices of land in the area.

The trust in its complaint to the CBI, through the High Court, said that in their endeavour to grab the property, no stone is left unturned by the accused be it use of goons to forcibly grab possession or brazen forgery of documents one after the other to establish their claim over the property.

While asking the CBI to expeditiously conduct the probe, the High Court said, “Since an attempt has been made to misuse the process of law and to make the legal system a party to the misadventure, it doesn’t merely remain an offence of simple forgery. The system can’t afford self-inflicted scars and thus a thorough and unimpaired investigation from an independent agency is required.”

The Guru Nanak Vidya Bhandar Trust, Daryaganj, New Delhi, was created in 1924 and had to its distinction eminent persons as trustees for the purpose of imparting education. The trust which has been in existence for over 100 years purchased various properties from time to time. The complaint said an imposter trust was created by the accused.

As part of the alleged land sharks’ conspiracy certain documents were forged by these four accused persons in an attempt to gain title over the property and one such document is a certificate which was allegedly issued under the Cooperative Societies Act on October 10, 1980, bearing the stamp of N.C.T., New Delhi. The document being forged and fabricated is borne out of the fact that N.C.T., New Delhi was created in 1991, said the complaint.