Tech institute land procured fraudulently

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 29 MARCH: The district land and land reforms department has uncovered a fraudulent deal in land procured for setting up the proposed Ghani Khan Choudhury Institute of Engineering and Technology in Old Malda.

According to the department, the owner of the plot of land in question had sold it twice-once in 1998 to an individual and then in 2009 to the agency procuring land for the institute. The alleged fraudulent dealer Gorokh Prasad, who is a resident of Gangarampur in South Dinajpur cannot be traced. He had allegedly sold the land in question to one Mr Prasanta Roy in 1998 and Mr Roy subsequently sold it to two tribal women. Gorokh Prasad again sold the land measuring 1.55 acre to an agency appointed by the Late Ghani Khan Choudhury’s family.

According to the district land and land reforms officer Mr K N Dew, records show that Gorokh Prasad had sold the land to one Prasanta Roy in 1998.

“It is surprising how the agency appointed by the Late Ghani Khan Choudhury’s family bought the same plot of land from Gorokh Prasad again in 2009”, said Mr Dew.

The two tribal women, who had started cultivating the land after buying it from Mr Roy in 2005, meanwhile were told that the proposed institute had purchased their land. Puzzled they lodged a complaint and there is now a court injunction on the piece of the land.

“I sold off the land to two tribal women in 2005. But being poor they could not pay the full amount of land which is why the said plot of land was registered in their name later” said Mr Prasant Roy.

Commenting on the matter, the Malda district magistrate Mr Sridhar Ghosh said: “I learnt of the matter from the ADM (LR) later. We have to find out how the agency could purchase the land from Gorokh Prasad in 2009 when he had sold it to Mr Roy in 1998 and Mr Roy sold it subsequently to the two tribal women in 2005. The development demands an inquiry”.

According to the land and land reforms department, besides confusion over the two tribal women’s land, controversy exists over the deals of nine other tribals in relation to the land procured for the institute. According to the department, the land had been procured violating state government guideline on such deals.