Hindu outfit in MP allegedly used Urdu name to build real estate
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Madhya Pradesh: A group of men linked to a Hindutva outfit has bought 200 acres of land using an organisation with an Urdu name. They allegedly "tricked" local small farmers and landowners into selling their plots saying the area is anyway going to become home to a Muslim community.
At the time of the sale, they were told the land is being bought to create a "Muslim area." The original owners now feel cheated. When the land was bought in the early 2000s, the real estate organisation was called Tanzeem-e-Zarkhez. Once the deals were done, the name was changed to 'Professor PC Mahajan Foundation' in 2007, reported NDTV.
The people who sold their land to the outfit have now approached the police for an inquiry. Most of them are small farmers and sold acres of their land for a cheaper rate under false impressions. The incident took place on the outskirts of Khargone town where a housing colony is now taking place.
Farmers are claiming they were "tricked" out of their land because they thought the agents who approached them were Muslims. One of them told NDTV that in 2004, he only got Rs 40,000 for five acres of his land. They were also told the area will soon have a Haj committee and a burial ground.
The group is headed by Ranjeet Singh Dandir, a leader of the ruling BJP. Officials of the foundation deny any trickery was involved in the land deals. Ravi Mahajan, director of the Foundation, told NDTV that they are putting the land to good use. "Besides houses, a shelter for stray cows is also being built."
The Foundation has bought 200 acres and 150 acres used to belong to 11 individuals or organisations. The rest of the land was bought from small farmers. They told NDTV that a man named Zakir approached them and said there will be a slaughterhouse in the area because a Muslim community will be settling there. Some said they panicked and sold the land thinking Muslims are going to be living in the area.
Zakir Shaikh claimed that he never forced or misled anyone to sell their land. The Foundation hired him as manager and he thought they were working towards a social cause.
Tanzeem-e-Zarkhez was formed in 2002 by a group of Hindus. The Trust's head and BJP leader Ranjeet Dandir said they wanted a gaushala in Khargone and didn't see the problem in naming it 'Tanzeem-e-Zarkhez'. He said: "The meaning of 'Tanzeem-e-Zarkhez' is to make wasteland fertile. Since we felt people may not understand the meaning, we changed the name."
Rajnish Agarwal, state BJP secretary, said the party has nothing to do with the issue as it is between the seller and the buyer. "They have their own economic interest."
