Professor Sujoy Kumar Guha of School of Medical Science and Technology, IIT Kharagpur doing research in injectable contraceptive for male, trans-cervical female contraception and artificial heart development, is running from pillar to post in Patna to save his ancestral property from being usurped by Patna’s housegrabbing mafia––most of whom enjoy political patronage. Dozens of such houses have been grabbed in the last five years, not to speak of the past. Most of the houses belonged to the Bengali families or old nawabs.

According to reports Guha’s house had been sold on the basis of a concocted power of attorney supposedly given by his late mother Monica Guha to a cloth merchant on March 11 this year. What is strange is that she died in January 1993.

Prof Guha reached Patna on May 14 last after his personal staff informed him that two youths, claiming that the property had been sold, asked everyone residing there to vacate in two days.

Guha met Chief Secretary Anup Mukherjee on May 17. He alerted the sub- registrar office and talked to the DM, Patna, Sanjay Kumar, in this regard. The latter ordered the Circle Officer to stay the mutation in favour of the buyer.

“On May 21 I was informed that the sales deed was registered and the buyer had now applied for mutation,” Guha was quoted in Hindustan Times.

What puzzled Guha is the fact that despite being the joint owner of the property along with the mother he never received any notice seeking no objection to the mutation being granted to the buyer.

However, when he inquired about it, the Professor was shocked to know that according to Circle Officer's record the no objection notice was issued to him more than a month back and the period stipulated for raising any objection had elapsed.

Guha had lodged an FIR with Gandhi Maidan Police Station suspecting the connivance of some lower level officials.

The DSP (Town) Ramakant Prasad, told the daily that on health ground the buyer did not turn up at the personal hearing of both parties on Saturday. “I have given two days time. He has to come clean else we would press charges against him,” the DSP said.

However, he added that cheatings do happen in land deals but unless he investigates the case he can not comment on the issue.

It needs to be recalled that Patna University History Professor and writer, Papiya Ghosh, whose sister is a serving IAS officer in Delhi, was killed in December 2006 in what many suspect was the case of housegrabbing.

Hotel De-lite in Gurdwara Lane in Fraser Road was allegedly captured by the land grabbers. It was owned by Sugato Dey.

Wife of Bengali banker Vishwanath Bose and her two children were brutally killed more than five years back. Besides, the son of a late IAS officer had to ‘sell off’ his Pataliputra Colony bungalow in a hurry to the wife of a very powerful MLA and move to Kolkata.

What is surprising is that though the land grabbers are acting with impunity the state administration appears to be reacting too little too late for obvious reasons.

Comment

comments...

It is disgusting to read the news with regard to land grabbers in Patna, who are all trying to malign the credibility & image of present Bihar Government, headed by Nitish Kumar.

I would urge Nitishjee personally to take up this issue with Patna DM, Circle Officer and Registrar/Sub-Registrar directly OR depute Chief Secretary to monitor this issue, as the officers will be involved in mischievous with land mafias. Without registry office staff's "mili-bhagat", it is impossible to do registry and then mutation by Circle Officer. This act of land mafia is reminding me the dark days during Lalu Prasad/Rabri Devi's tenure, when criminals / goons used to pressurise people and grabbing priceless land on just throw-away price.

Further, I am thankful to Bihartimes.com for taking up this news and wish this matter should draw the attention of CM Nitish Kumar. No doubt, Nitishjee is doing good job, he is putting all-effort to re-gain Bihar's lost glory, but at the same time, these mafias, criminals, should also be kept away, otherwise all-efforts of Nitishjee will have no meaning.

Mohammad Yasar Imran

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Yet another example of the so called sushan of Nitish Kumar government! Close on the heels of grabbing house of eminent poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar on Dinkar Path in central Patna by the close relation of the deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi and the same house is still under the illegal possession of Sushil's close relation, yet another example of grabbing house on posh and busy Dak Bunglow road in the heart of the town-the house of red colour is beautiful mansion -has come to light by land mafia. The owner of the house an IIT professor is moving pillar to post without any relief. Strangely, the mafia has claimed that his mother has sold the house on power of atorney by his mother who surprisingly died long back. This how Patna police acts against the land grabbers and mafia! The Guha house was famous because of the father of the IIT professor was eminent doctor in Patna, doing philothropic service, well -known to the inhabitants of Patna. This is slur on the society of Bihar what can we say over the matter! Land and house grabbing of people specially Bengali community are not new in the state capital. over three dozen houses and plots of Bengali gentelmen in Lohianagar housing colony and other places in the state capital have been grabbed and grabbed by force and also after terrorising them got the house transferred by land and house grabbers . Similar are the instances in central Patna like Naya Tola, Khajanchi road, Govind Mitra road Mithapur-Bangali Tola etc. Bengali population are practically dwindling in Bihar, specially in Patna as all of them have gone to West Bengal for saving their life from house and land mafia- I have definite instances and I am ready to give specific examples how the Bengali population has migrated from here in the last 25 years because of grabbing their houses and lands in which they were living for over hundred years!Likewise houses and lands of Punjabi community and other minorities have also been grabbed in the successive years and their proprietors have run away to save their life- such are the cases with other sections of society, who are weak and cannot face the wrath of house and land mafia! People of the state capital and civil society must open their mouth and save the minority community from such pitiable situation.
K K Singh, journalist, based at Patna after retirement from active service as chief reporter, The Times of India.