Report could nail Modi in heritage haveli sale

Modi’s involvement in the scam was raised recently in the Assembly’s Budget session by Congress MLA Ramnarayan Meena. State Tourism Minister Bina Kak had said that an inquiry would be immediately ordered. Jaipur Divisional Commissioner Kiron Soni Gupta,who headed this inquiry,submitted the report to the government recently,confirming that the havelis were indeed government property.

ACB Additional Director General of Police Ajit Singh on Wednesday said,“We had registered the case and submitted a report to the government last year. We had found that Amer Heritage City Construction Private Limited had acquired four properties on government land,claiming that it was private.” He said the sale was made possible as the concerned Sub-Registrar refused to accept the property was government’s.

Sources in the government said though a Department of Archaeology Superintendent denied permission for the sale,Modi had allegedly ensured that pressure was mounted on the Sub-Registrar and Director of Archaeology to acquire the land.

The ACB FIR names Rajasthan Director,Archaeology and Museums,B L Gupta,the Sub-Registrar and Deputy Director of the Amer Rural Development Authority and the owners,managers and employees of Amer Heritage City Construction Private limited.

Incidentally,the name of this company was changed to Ananda Heritage Hotels 15 days after the havelis were purchased.

Singh said that since Modi is on the board of directors,he comes under the purview of the ACB. “Though the ACB can target only government employees,in this case government employees colluded with a private company to buy government property. So all sellers and purchasers can be questioned,” Singh said.

Kak said she was yet to go through the entire report of the Divisional Commissioner,but “broadly” the report established that the four havelis were “government property”,which had been under the “illegal possession” of people who had sold it. The sellers had no ownership documents,nor had they claimed ownership,she said. They were “not protected” monuments though,she claimed.

Asked if Modi was one of the buyers,Kak said,“His name did not figure in the registry that had been done in the name of the company. After the company’s name changed,the board of directors of the new company included Lalit and Minal Modi. The government will take legal opinion on the report and then take action on it.” With ENS Delhi