Hyderabad: The ruling Telangana Rashtriya Samiti (TRS) in Telangana has come under attack after reports that its senior leader and Rajya Sabha Member, Keshav Rao, and his family, are allegedly involved in a multi-crore land scam.
Documents accessed by CNN-News18 show TRS leader Keshav Rao's daughter Vijaya Lakshmi and other family members had purchased 50 acres of land in Ibrahimpatnam area. Now, the government audit has exposed that 38-acre of this 50-acre land belongs to the government.
Talking to CNN-News18, however, Keshav Rao said he hadn't done anything wrong. "Yes, we had bought the land from a private firm but as per the law. We got the registration done after Supreme Court orders only."
Recently, a multi-crore land scam was unearthed in Hyderabad, where 693 acres of government land in Miyapur was illegally transferred to private companies, causing loss of about Rs 600 crore to the government.
An official at the sub-registrar office confirmed, "After irregularities were found, the in-charge registrar has been suspended by the government. 38-acre of the land belongs to the government. The registration of the land is a mistake."
The said land was bought from Goldstone Infra Ltd, whose director is accused of being a part of Miyapur land scam and is also suspected to be the kingpin of the aforementioned multi-crore land scam. This revelation has brought TRS government under the scanner.
Talking to CNN-News18, however, Keshav Rao said he hadn't done anything wrong. "Yes, we had bought the land from a private firm but as per the law. We got the registration done after Supreme Court orders only."
Alleging the involvement of ministers, senior TRS leaders, and top bureaucrats in the multi-crore land scam in Telangana, the opposition is demanding Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to order CBI probe.
Krishna Sagar Rao, BJP spokesperson, said, "Thirty-eight acres of illegal transfer of land by Goldstone to MP's family shows TRS government is fully complicit. Why is the CM silent? CM KCR needs to give an explanation of this massive scam. We demand CBI probe as it will only be a fair probe."
Attacking the government, Congress spokesperson, Krishank said, "There seems to be a direct link. Keshav Rao's family purchased the land from Goldstone Infra Ltd., who is the kingpin of the scam. Did they not know they were buying land from a criminal? Mr Rao says they have court orders. But they went to court after the file was put on hold by the sub-registrar, who knew it was a government land. The larger question is if officials are confirming it's government land, then were the documents fabricated? There are many unanswered questions, which the TRS government must answer."
Padmanabha Reddy, Secretary of Forum for Good Governance, said, "In most land scams, there is some link to politicians. There is a need for stricter action against the guilty."
The Telangana government has already ordered CID probe and an inquiry into all irregularities that have come to light in the Stamps and Registration Department. The government has taken a serious note of the fact that Benami transactions were done without an official record in about 20% of registrations.
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