Acting on a petition filed by Rastriya Mukti Morcha (RMM) national general secretary Somnath Routray, President Pranab Mukherjee has directed Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra to conduct an inquiry into the alleged land scam to the tune of Rs 13 crore at Johala Mouza near the Apex College at Nakhara on the outskirts of the city.
In his petition, Routray has alleged that three persons, Manoj Kumar Nayak of Pandav Nagar of Tankapani Road, Ramachandra Ray of Mahabeer Nagar, both in Bhubaneswar, and Kedar Mohapatra of Bazrakabati Road in Cuttack along with middleman Dinakrushna Mishra had signed an agreement with Delhi-based Brys International Private limited owned by hotelier Rahul Kumar Gaur of Uttar Pradesh, to sell 15 acres of land at Johala Mouza in Nakhara.
The petition has alleged that the trio in the land agreement had agreed to change the existing road on the land, besides changing the grazing land status and the course of the Prachi river, which is illegal. The trio was paid Rs 50 lakh in advance for this purpose through cheque. Rourtay has alleged that when he tried to probe into the matter, Gaur threatened to eliminate him.
He has also alleged that money laundering worth Rs 13 crore and tax evasion worth Rs 3 crore have taken place in this deal with the help of Rich India Estate Private limited. “We welcome the President’s order and simultaneously appeal to the State Government to arrest all MoU holders for prevention of witness tampering,” said Routray.