Authorities uncover a huge Rs 450 crore fraud involving land manipulation in Panipat.
In a shocking incident, a massive scam involving a piece of commercial land worth Rs 450 crore has been discovered near GT Road in Panipat. The land, measuring 7,200 square feet, belonged to Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP). It is believed that the land mafia illegally took over the valuable property with the help of corrupt revenue officials and some HSVP staff.
The scam came to light when a Panipat's Sector 6 resident, Joginder Swami, filed a complaint with HSVP, exposing the wrongdoing. Concerned by the allegations, the HSVP administrator wrote to the chief vigilance officer, urging them to take legal action against the officials involved and to reclaim the land for the urban planning agency of Haryana.
The land in question was acquired by the land acquisition collector in 1992. Although most of the land was legally transferred to HSVP for commercial development, it remained unused. Opportunistic individuals took advantage of the situation and engaged in the unauthorised sale and purchase of the land.
Surprisingly, the government records show that the land belongs to HSVP, except for a small portion still under dispute. It was revealed that between 2002 and 2020, four sale deeds were executed for the same land, transferring ownership to multiple private individuals.
The extent of the scam has been outlined in the complaint filed by the HSVP administrator. The involvement of influential people cannot be ignored, according to an HSVP official. Additionally, it has been discovered that the land acquisition collector in Rohtak had been requesting a report from the tehsildar of Panipat since 2018, but no records were provided.
Employees at the Panipat estate office have been accused of withholding information and providing false statements about the land's status. Now HSVP is aware of the scam, it will regain possession of the land and take further action.