Dhar (Madhya Pradesh): The Dhar police, on Wednesday, arrested one of the wanted accused, Mohammed Shahzad, while the main conspirator in the infamous multi-million-rupee property sale case in Dhar, Sudhir Jain, and others for whose arrest a reward was declared are still on run as the local police grope in the dark.
Cops nabbed Shahzad from his relativeís house in Indore on Wednesday. So far, 29 accused have been named in the scam and 15 of them have been arrested, while the search for 14 others is still going on.
The police team is taking the help of the Cyber Cell to trace other accused in the case after superintendent of police Aditya Pratap Singh announced a reward for their arrest. SP Singh also ordered that a list of properties registered in the name of Sudhir Jain be prepared. Sources anticipated that Jain could flee abroad to evade arrest.
Meanwhile, police sources claimed that a case diary running into more than 1,700 pages is ready and they would firmly present the governmentís case in the high court during the hearing of the bail petition filed on behalf of the arrested accused in the case.
Earlier, a bail petition was filed in the high court by the main accused. However, it is yet to give a date for the hearing. The police are also keeping an eye on those who helped Sudhir Jain after his driver revealed the secrets of many benami properties of Jain.
Eight plots registered in name of Shahzad
During the investigations, it was revealed that eight plots had been registered in the name of Shahzad on the disputed land. People close to him revealed that his financial condition was not so strong that he could buy eight plots worth crores of rupees. Shahzad likely played the role of a dummy character. The police will try to seek Shahzadís remand from the court to ascertain who is behind him. A total of 41 registries have been prepared on this disputed land, so far. The police are also searching for the fourth conspirator, Akhilesh Sharma.
Question on police investigation
During the police investigations, it was revealed that registries had also been found in the name of the family of one of the accused, Yogesh Agarwal, but the police have made only Yogesh Agarwal an accused in the case.
When asked, Kotwali police station-in-charge Sameer Patidar said that, prima facie, accused Yogesh Agarwalís family members had signed them only at his behest, so they are not guilty. But the police have made many family members accused in the case. Some are on the run, while some are behind bars.
Now, many in the town are raising questions about the police investigation, claiming that many persons, including women who were named in the case, had signed at the behest of their husbands. Besides, another lawyer, Javed Anjud, and his wife are absconding.
About the scam
* 3.074 hectares were donated by then Maharaj Anand Rao Panwar to the Canadian Presbyterian Mission Committee Church Council for constructing a hospital and doctorsí residence in 1895
* The land has been disputed for many years as the land mafia had been selling portions of the land using forged documents
* BJP MLA Neena Verma had raised the issue in the state Assembly
