Robert Vadra
The Rajasthan government has recommended a CBI probe into several “dubious” land deals in Bikaner, including cases allegedly involving a company promoted by Robert Vadra, a state minister has said. The dubious land deals in Bikaner, originating during the compensation process to villagers for the 1,400 bighas of land acquired for the Mahajan field firing range, have resulted in 18 FIRs since 2014. Four of these are against Skylight Hospitality promoted by Vadra.
“It’s not just about Vadra. Out of the 18 FIRs, only four are against Skylight Hospitality. It is a huge conspiracy with involvement of government officials,” Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said. Sixteen FIRs are from Gajner and two from Kolayat, Kataria said. “Land was allotted to fake beneficiaries and sold and resold several times. So only a fair probe will reveal the truth,” he said. The Rajasthan Police last year reportedly gave a clean chit to Vadra, concluding he was a victim of fraud. However, the police and Kataria denied any clean chit a day after, saying investigations were still pending. The opposition Congress, however, said the BJP was misusing central agencies ahead of the Assembly elections next year.
“BJP misuses CBI, ED and other agencies for political gains… the state government had formed a committee but its findings were not disclosed,” state Congress president Sachin Pilot said here on Tuesday. “Those who have been arrested in the land scam are connected with BJP. If BJP people are being arrested in the land scam, then we are ready for any probe,” he told PTI.
– PTI inputs
