Police in the Rasra area of Uttar Pradesh’s Ballia district have registered a case against 18 people following court directives over the alleged fraudulent sale of approximately 6.5 bighas of temple and pond land valued at nearly Rs 50 crore. The prime commercial parcels, dedicated to the Shri Thakur Ji and Shri Mahadev Ji temples alongside an adjoining water body, were purportedly presented as private holdings using forged municipal house tax records. Acting on an application filed before the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-I in Ballia by Rikhilal, the sarvarahakar and caretaker of the temples, authorities initiated an inquiry into the alleged documentation fraud and subsequent property transfers.
Court Orders Action Over Alleged Manipulation of Municipal Records
According to the complaint submitted to the court, the disputed parcels stand officially recorded in government registers under the names of the deities and the pond. The complainant alleged that Manowar Ali and his family members orchestrated the creation of forged records, improperly securing house numbers against the pond land within the house tax register of the Rasra Municipal Council. These artificial municipal entries were subsequently used to portray the sacred and public land as private holdings, paving the way for execution of title registrations in favor of multiple private individuals on July 28 and July 30.
Prime Commercial Land Embroiled in Two-Decade Ownership Dispute
The land parcels cited in the application comprise seven distinct plots measuring 0.121, 0.360, 0.267, 0.134, 0.227, 0.154, and 0.004 hectares, alongside an additional 0.361 hectares tied to the pond. Situated near a police outpost in the main market sector of Rasra, the aggregate 1.628 hectares forms a prime commercial expanse that has remained mired in ownership conflicts for nearly twenty years. While prevailing local rates of Rs 6 crore per bigha yield an estimated base valuation of Rs 39 crore, the collective market value of the entire tract is assessed at around Rs 50 crore, subject to formal administrative verification.
Police Launch Probe into Beneficiaries and Document Forgery
The First Information Report names 17 individuals, alongside unidentified suspects, out of the 18 booked in connection with the fraudulent transactions. Those listed include Izhar Ahmed, Vakil Ahmed, Aftab Ahmed, Shabra Khatoon, Muhammad Ahmed, Amjad Ali, Saddam Hussain, Shamsher Alam, Muhammad Gori, Pushpraj Verma, Sanjeet Kumar Prasad, Sarfaraz Ansari, Usha Verma, Pallu Verma, Thakurji Verma, Paras Nath Gupta, and Suresh Kumar. Investigating officers are reviewing the municipal tax registers, revenue department entries, and deed registrations to establish how public and religious property was certified for private conveyance.
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