The CBI has registered two FIRs against officials managing enemy properties for allegedly leasing out over 100 acres of prime commercial land in Uttar Pradesh at nominal rates by showing these as ponds.
Following registration of the FIRs, the agency is also conducting searches at 15 locations in Lucknow, Delhi, Kolkata and Barabanki in connection with the case.
The scam is related to enemy properties in Lucknow, Barabanki and Sitapur, officials said.
The CBI has booked Samandar Singh Rana, the then officiating Custodian of Enemy Property of India (CEPI) at Delhi, Utpal Chakraborty, Assistant Custodian and Ramesh Chandra Tewari, a retired Supervisor (both based in Lucknow) under Indian Penal Code sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and 471 (forgery) and provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act related to bribery.
In addition, the CBI has also named 15 beneficiaries as accused in the FIRs.
Enemy properties vested with CEPI are the left behind assets of Indians who took Chinese and Pakistani nationality after wars with these countries. The government took over these properties under The Defence of India Act, 1962 after their migration and change in nationality.
Enemy properties are currently vested with the Custodian of Enemy Property of India (CEPI).
"A property of an individual or a company recorded in the name of an enemy, enemy subject or enemy firm at the crucial vesting period i.e. from September 10, 1965 to September 26, 1977 is treated as an enemy property strictly as per procedures laid down in the Enemy property Rules, 2015," according to the Home Ministry's website.
The FIR said that the officials of CEPI allegedly colluded with beneficiaries by "forging and manipulating lease agreements in favour of lessees" and granting lease without agreements.
The leases were regularised without the approval of the Central government, by waiving of lease rental arrears, unauthorised out of court settlements and other illegal means, causing loss of revenue to the government, the FIR alleged.
One of the beneficiaries was Ramesh Chandra Tewari's brother Avinash Tewari, posted in the revenue department of the State, who got the lease of over eight acre of prime land having a mango orchard with 177 trees at annual rate of `5,000 as against the market rate of `5.55 lakh per annum, according to an enquiry done by the CEPI.
The CBI has also named as accused beneficiaries named Ram Pratap Singh, Babu Lal, Swapna Singh, Sivaz Iqbal and Mohrin Iqbal, Anup Roy, Sunil Kumar Bajpayee, Om Prakash Singh, Gyanendra Tiwari, Jainuddin Md Siddique, Umair Sivaz, Bilal Ahmed, Diwakar, Rudresh Pandey and Vinay Srivastava
It is alleged that loss of over `1.45 crore was caused to the government in three years, officials added.