₹200 crore land grab in Vadaj, construction begins, FIR against four
Updated: Feb 12th, 2025
A complaint has been filed with CID Crime over a ₹200 crore land scam in Vadaj, Ahmedabad. Land laws dating back to 1979 were manipulated to prevent the land from being taken over by the government.
The accused allegedly misappropriated 17,705 sqm of land and initiated construction, leading to a ₹500 crore fraud.
Manoj Tejumal Khanna, a resident of Usmanpura, filed a complaint with CID Crime, Ahmedabad Zone, against Rajan Shah (of Palm Swing Realty LLP), Suketu Shah (resident of Aryaman Bungalows, Thaltej), Rishil Shah, and Yogesh Bhatt (resident of Narayan Complex, Navrangpura).
Background to the land fraud
The disputed land in survey number 451 of Vadaj village was originally owned by Chhanalal Keshavlal Prajapati, who had given it to Punja Prajapati for brick manufacturing.
However, Punja allegedly forged Chhanalal’s signatures and transferred the land to Mehra Bharwad, whose heirs were later listed as the owners.
To prevent the land from being seized under the Land Ceiling Act, Mehra entered a development agreement with Ashok Vatika Co-op Housing Society in 1979.
In 1995, Manoj purchased the land from Chhanalal’s son, Ishwar, for ₹31.50 lakh, but the sale deed was not registered due to municipal housing reservations.
That same year, Mehra and his associates allegedly attacked Manoj but no complaint was filed. Despite having possession of the land, the names of Mehra’s heirs, including Chinu, were fraudulently entered into official records.
Chinu later sold the land to Ashok Vatika Co-op Housing Society. In 2006, Manoj filed a case in Bhadra City Civil Court, which is still ongoing.
In 2010, the office bearers of Ashok Vatika Co-op Housing Society and Palm Spring Realty Pvt Ltd settled the dispute internally, transferring ownership to Yogesh Bhatt.
Manoj sought legal intervention to cancel this document. Later, in 2013 and 2018, attempts were made to clear the land title, which Manoj opposed.
In 2019, Rajan, Suketu, Rishil, and Yogesh allegedly provided false information to authorities and manipulated land records. Using fraudulent methods, they cancelled the lis pendens (legal notice preventing transactions on disputed property), leading to government clearance. They then launched a housing project named ‘Palm Paradise’.
A complaint was filed with the RERA office in Gandhinagar, and after an investigation, RERA officials revoked approvals and advised filing a police complaint. Manojbhai has now filed a complaint with CID Crime, citing fraudulent land transactions and government office manipulation.
Fraud in Vastrapur
A case has been registered in Vastrapur for a ₹55 lakh fraud involving office space documents. Krunal Jogadiya of Bhavnagar filed a complaint against Dhanesh Jain, Amit Vakil, and Paritosh Patel.
The accused allegedly sold office spaces (Units 507 and 508) in Alpha Business Park and took ₹55.50 lakh, but never provided the sale documents. Vastrapur police have begun an investigation.
A case has been registered in Bodakdev regarding fraudulent land documents. Pankhil Parikh of Ambawadi filed a complaint against Govind and Vipul Shah.
They allegedly forged documents to claim ownership of a 1,453-square-metre plot using false seals and signatures under RKC Realty LLP. Bodakdev police have started an investigation into this land scam.
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