The ongoing investigation into the alleged fraudulent sale of Bhoodan lands as private lands in Nagaram village of Maheshwaram mandal in Ranga Reddy district suggested that there was a “deep-rooted conspiracy” and “use of forged documents”, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said.
In a counter affidavit filed before the Bench of Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy of the Telangana High Court in a writ petition seeking probe into ‘Bhoodan land fraud’, the ED officials said that manipulation of records maintained by officials at Tahsil, Mandal, District and Chief Commissioner of Land Administration offices resulted in alienation of government land. “The investigation is on and there is a possibility that some more facts may emerge regarding the role of the said persons and also Government officials,” the counter affidavit by ED Hyderabad Assistant Director Gajaraj Singh Thakur stated.
The ED informed the HC that they had recorded the statement of writ petitioner Birla Mallesh under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, and stating that the petitioner revealed certain facts related to lands under survey no. 194 of Nagaram village.
The ED officer informed the HC that the complaint of Mr. Mallesh was forwarded to the Telangana DGP under Section 66 of the PMLA on November 8, 2024. However, there was no response from the DGP office till date in the matter, the affidavit stated.
No action under PMLA was initiated by the ED relating to lands under survey nos. 194 and 195 of Nagaram village, as no case was registered by any police station.
Following a private complaint lodged by one Dastagir Shareef, a court referred case was registered against Khaderunnisa and others by the Maheshwaram police of the Rachakonda Commissionerate. Based on this, the ED issued an Enforcement Case Information Report pertaining to fraudulent transactions over lands in survey no. 181 and 182, the affidavit said.
No ECIR was issued relating to lands under survey nos. 194 and 195. The writ petitioner Mallesh alleged that some senior IAS and IPS officers purchased lands in Nagaram villages under these survey numbers. Justice C.V. Bhaskar Reddy issued notices to the senior bureaucrats directing them to file their respective counter affidavits.
The officers moved the division bench seeking a direction to stay the single judge’s order. The division bench, however, instructed them to file their objections and responses before the single judge.
Published – June 14, 2025 09:02 pm IST
