Gujarat BJP legislator’s land-grab cases given to CID

GANDHINAGAR - The Gujarat High Court Tuesday transferred the investigation into three alleged land grabbing cases against BJP legislator Babubhai Jamnadas Patel and his son to the state police’s criminal investigation department (CID).

The court also sought that two officers of the inspector-general of police rank should supervise the probe.

Acting on various petitions by farmers who lost their land in the legislator’s alleged scam, Justice Jayant Patel asked the CID to investigate the case and submit periodical reports to the DGP, after terming the earlier investigation very unsatisfactory.

In one of the cases, local police filed a summary stating that the accused could not be traced, but the court has rejected the report also and came down heavily on police for their lethargic investigation against the influential politician.

Last year, three FIRs - two at Sarkhej police station and one at Karanj police station - were lodged against the legislator after the high court ordered the probe.

Patel has been accused of forging documents in order to create bogus power of attorneys to grab farmers’ lands. An inquiry by the district collector highlighted the scam in 2005, but no further action was taken.

However, after the farmers’ petitions, the high court ordered police to probe the scam and continued to supervise the cases. The legislator approached the apex court against the high court orders, but his pleas were rejected.

Patel and his son have also been accused of threatening the farmers and an FIR was lodged against them in Sanand. The high court had already transferred investigations in this case to the CID.

The son, Lalit, filed a plea raising objections against the probe by the CID but the judge rejected the petition.