Sirohi Sarpanch accused of grabbing government land worth crores. Distributed fake deeds to his family after being released from jail.
The case pertains to the Rohida Gram Panchayat in Sirohi district. The villagers here have opened a front against the current Sarpanch, Pawan Rathod. Complainant Ratan Lal Rawal and others allege that the Sarpanch has misused his position and political influence.
It is alleged that Sarpanch Pawan Rathod illegally occupied 6840 square feet of valuable government land located on Vasa Road.
When the villagers complained about this matter to the District Collector, an inquiry committee was formed. The Block Development Officer (BDO) constituted a three-member committee, which found the encroachment to be true in its investigation.
The investigation report clearly stated that the Sarpanch had illegally occupied 6840 square feet of land. Subsequently, a letter was also written to the state government to suspend the Sarpanch.
The real twist in the story came when the Sarpanch tried to get an electricity connection for this illegally occupied land.
For this, he submitted a fake land deed (patta) from the year 1986 to the electricity department. When the deed was verified, the entire fraud was exposed.
The son of the person in whose name the deed was registered filed a police report against the Sarpanch. The police investigated and found Sarpanch Pawan Rathod and his father guilty.
Fearing arrest, the Sarpanch fled to Somnath, Gujarat, under the pretext of attending a condolence meeting. But the arm of the law is long. Rohida police reached Somnath and arrested him. For this fraud, the Sarpanch had to spend 29 days behind bars.
The villagers allege that after coming out of jail, the Sarpanch misused his power even more.
He divided the same disputed 6840 square feet of land. This division was not among others, but among his own family members.
The Sarpanch issued ancestral deeds in the names of his mother Amba Devi, father Chauparam, brother Bharat, and his uncle's family members. All this was done under Section 157, which is completely illegal.
The rules clearly state that to issue an ancestral deed, there must be at least 50 years of old possession of the land.
But for this land, the villagers themselves had agitated in 1989-91, so how could a 50-year possession be possible?
Most importantly, the Panchayati Raj Act also states that no Sarpanch can issue deeds to their own family members. The Sarpanch flouted this rule as well.
Corruption in Rohida Panchayat doesn't stop here. The Right to Information (RTI) Act is also ineffective here.
When a villager asks for a copy of the deeds, the Panchayat Secretary has only one answer.
Information will be provided only when the Sarpanch orders it.
It is also alleged that government land worth crores is being distributed for free to favorites in the panchayat. People who own cars, farmhouses, and wells, and who pay income tax, are being declared poor and given BPL deeds.
Now, the villagers have demanded that the district administration intervene in this entire scam. They want the government land worth crores to be saved and the strictest action to be taken against the corrupt Sarpanch.
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