Latest news with #GujaratLandGrabbing(Prohibition)Act
Hans India
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Seven held in Ahmedabad over conspiracy to seize Trikamji Mandir land
Seven people have been arrested in connection with the conspiracy to seize the Trikamji Mandir land in Gujarat's Ahmedabad. The accused have been identified as Babu Bhai Dahyabhai Shah, Mohammad Asgar Abdul Hamid Pathan, Nizamuddin Abdul Rehman Sheikh, Mohammad Bilal Mohammad Hanif Sheikh, Zeeshan Zahid Hussain Qadri, Rohan Imtiyaz Ahmed Qadri, and Saddam Hussein Salimbhai Qureshi. Gaekwad Haveli Police arrested Bilal Sheikh, a builder and son of the notorious Hanif Dadhi, near the Kachchi Masjid area in Jamalpur. The arrest is linked to a serious land fraud case involving the alleged illegal acquisition of property belonging to the Trikamji Mandir. Sheikh and his associates are accused of fabricating false documents and conspiring to unlawfully seize the temple land. Following a complaint, the police registered a case under multiple sections, including cheating, forgery, using forged documents as genuine and criminal conspiracy. Authorities revealed that the accused allegedly created fraudulent documents to mislead officials and carry out their illegal plan. The case has drawn public attention because of the involvement of individuals with previous criminal backgrounds and the sensitivity around temple land disputes in Ahmedabad. Investigations are ongoing, and further arrests may be made as the police continue to probe the matter. The Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, was enacted to curb unauthorised land occupations and empower the government to take stringent actions against offenders. Under this Act, special courts have been established to expedite the adjudication of land grabbing cases, aiming for resolution within six months. The Act also allows for the attachment of properties acquired through illegal means and mandates the creation of a seven-member committee in each district to evaluate land-grabbing complaints. Since the implementation of the Act, the state has received over 11,000 complaints related to land grabbing. Of these, approximately 5 per cent have resulted in the registration of First Information Reports (FIRs). A significant portion of these complaints pertains to private land disputes, with a smaller percentage involving government-owned land. Notably, the value of the land involved in these cases is substantial, with estimates running into hundreds of crores of rupees.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gujarat Confidential: Reaching out
Citing the case of demolition of Mohammadi madrasa in Amreli's Dhari taluka on May 13, Congress MLA Imran Khedawala and former MLA Gyasuddin Sheikh appealed to the community to take a lesson from the incident. They exhorted the community members to immediately come forward to protect religious, residential and commercial properties by paying the impact fee and regularising unauthorised constructions, which are without government permission, by June 17 — the deadline for the purpose. 'Muslim community should come forward to regularise the construction of mosques, dargahs and madrasas as there is a conspiracy to demolish these settlements…in any way across the state,' the Congress leaders alleged in a statement. In the budget session, Khedawala, the lone Muslim MLA in the Assembly, had become the target of minister Jagdish Vishwakarma who had suggested that encroachments by a 'particular community' were impeding development works. Days after he was suspended from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for 'damaging party image', Vadodara Municipal Corporation's corporator Ashish Joshi has received a notice from the District Collector and District Magistrate of Vadodara to appear for a hearing in an alleged case of land grabbing in the Danteshwar area of the city, where Joshi resides. The former BJP leader, who has been leading the cause of the victims of the January 2024 Harni Boat Tragedy that killed 14 persons, including 12 students and two teachers, has been named as a respondent in the notice under the Gujarat Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 2020, along with 19 others. Joshi said, 'The notice has been pasted on the Pashupatinath Mahadev temple that is located on land that is said to be government land, outside the legally constructed residential colony where I reside. The area has a slum settlement around, and 19 persons from the slums have been made respondents in the case… I park my car in the compound of the temple, which, I presume, has made them serve me a notice…' He further said, 'We will appear before the committee with the documents as directed. The notice is evidence that under the BJP rule, seeking justice and speaking for victims is seen as a crime and the machinery will be sent after you.'
