On 24 December 2021, The Indian Express published a report titled: “Ayodhya: Kin of officials bought land from the trust under probe for illegal transfer of Dalit land”. In the name of ‘investigative journalism’, the report written by Shyamlal Yadav and Sandeep Singh had claimed that after the Supreme Court’s verdict, some officials, MLAs, ministers, and relatives of the government officials purchased land in Ayodhya within a 5-km radius of the Ram Mandir site, potentially creating a ‘conflict of interest.’
The report said that at least 15 buyers of land around the Ram Mandir site included MLAs, bureaucrats who have or are serving in Ayodhya, and local revenue officials, or their close relatives. The report expressed doubts over these authorities, who are either serving or previously worked in Ayodhya and were in charge of verifying land transactions.
The Indian Express did not present any evidence in this report that highlighted problems in the land transaction. The allegations The Indian Express levelled on the 15 beneficiaries it named in its report, were also refuted by the latter. The report, however, made it appear that the purchase of these properties was contentious, leading Hindus to conclude that looting in the name of the Ram temple occurred at Ayodhya.
The report specially mentioned that all the government officials in question had purchased land in Ayodhya within a 5-km radius of the Ram Mandir site.
Following the report by The Indian Express, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh ordered an inquiry into the same. We at OpIndia also tried to delve deeper into the case and the layers of deception spun by The Indian Express in the name of ‘investigative journalism’ started unbinding one by one as soon as we began probing the issue.
The report by The Indian Express mentioned- IAS MP Agarwal, IPS Deepak Kumar, SDM Piyush Chaudhary, DSP Arvind Chaurasia, Revenue Officer Purushottam Das Gupta, State Information Commissioner Harshvardhan Shahi, retired IAS officer Umadhar Dwivedi, Lekhpal Badri Upadhyay, Kanungo Sudhanshu Ranjan, Peshkar Dinesh Ojha, Ayodhya Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay, BJP MLA from Gosainganj Indrapratap Tiwari Khabbu, BJP MLA from Ayodhya Ved Prakash Gupta and State OBC Commission member Balram Maurya, as the 15 beneficiaries who had purchased land in Ayodhya within a 5-km radius of the Ram Mandir site.
OpIndia found that The Indian Express’ first and most important claim that all these beneficiaries had purchased land within 5-km of the Ram Mandir site was only inaccurate. In fact, out of all the pieces of land that have been found a mention in The Indian Express report, only 5 plots are within 5-km of the Ram Mandir site. The rest of the plots are either located in other police station areas, or even in other districts.
OBC commission member Balram Maurya
Balram Maurya, a member of the State OBC Commission was named as one of the beneficiaries in the report by The Indian Express. It was alleged that Maurya bought a plot in Maheshpur. Here, it becomes imperative for The Indian Express to know that Maheshpur is in district Gonda outside the boundaries of district Ayodhya. As evident from the screenshot of the google map shared below, Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir site is 12 km away from Maheshpur, which is definitely much more than the 5 km radius claimed by The Indian Express. Moreover, the media house is probably unaware that the river Saryu flows between Ayodhya and this particular location. Also, in the midst of the two locations, there is a 1 km long bridge that has been built to connect the two places.
Keeping all the aforementioned information in mind, it is safe to assume that The Indian Express claims are too far fetched and devoid of facts.
Another beneficiary of illegal land purchase named by The Indian Express- Information Commissioner Harshvardhan Shahi
The report by The Indian Express further alleged that Uttar Pradesh Information Commissioner Harshvardhan Shahi acquired an illegal plot of land in the Sarairasi Manjha area in Ayodhya in the name of his son and wife. Again, the area- Sarairasi Manjha, which the report mentions is 14 km away from the Ram Mandir site in Ayodhya, contrary to the Indian Express’s claim of 5 km. Furthermore, this region is under a separate police jurisdiction than the Ram Mandir site in Ayodhya.
When we visited the Sarairasi Manjha area in Ayodhya we saw that the entire region is completely deserted. This is, in fact, the same village where many people had given up their lives defending the temple when Babur attacked Ayodhya, destroyed Ram Mandir and killed thousands of Sadhus.
SDM Ayush Choudhary: third beneficiary of the ‘illegal land deal’ as claimed by The Indian Express
Again, The Indian Express claimed that SDM Ayush Chaudhary’s cousin Shobhita Rani had bought 2 different plots within 5 km of the Ramjanmabhoomi temple complex. OpIndia visited both these places. The first land purchased in May 2020 is in village Birauli, which is about 13 km from the Ram Mandir complex.
The terrain is exceedingly rocky and covered in clumps. There’s a lot of dust on the road that leads to Birauli and connects two local markets namely Bilharghat and Masoudha.
The second plot belonging to SDM Ayush Chaudhary’s cousin Shobhita Rani is situated in Malikpur village in Ayodhya. This plot is roughly 10 kilometres away from the Ram Mandir site. Both of these areas are likewise under different police jurisdiction than the Ram Mandir.
These plots were reputedly purchased in November 2019 in the name of an organisation run by Shobhita Rani. From October 2019 until October 2021, SDM Ayush Chaudhary was stationed in various parts of the Ayodhya district. He is currently assigned to the Kanpur district.
Sudhanshu Ranjan, (Kanoongo, Ganja village) and Badri Upadhyay (Lekhpal of Ganja village)
The Indian Express report further named Sudhanshu Ranjan, (Kanoongo, Ganja village) and Badri Upadhyay (Lekhpal of Ganja village) as the other two beneficiaries of the Ayodhya illegal land deal. The report read that Sudhanshu Ranjan purchased a plot of land in Ganja village in the name of his wife, Aditi in March 2021. Similarly, it accused Badri Upasdhyay of illegally acquiring a piece of land by Maharshi Ramayan Vidyapeeth Trust, in the same area at around the same time, in the name of his father- Vashisht Narayan.
To bust the claims made by the Indian Express, the OpIndia team visited this village also. Ganja village is also about 9 km away from the periphery of the Ram Mandir site, which is again in stark contrast to the 5-km radius claim made by the media house.
The police station limit of this area is also different from that of the Ramjanmabhoomi. This place comes under a village near the Dabhasemar market on the Ayodhya-Prayagraj highway.
Circle officer Arvind Chaurasia named as another benefiaciary by The Indian Express
According to the Indian Express, Arvind Chaurasia’s relatives purchased land in Ayodhya’s Halkara Ka Purwa and Korkhana. These plots were purchased in the name of Chaurasia’s father-in-law Santosh Kumar and mother-in-law Ranjana in the months of June and September 2021, further claimed the media report. It may be noted that CO Arvind Chaurasia was posted as DSP in different areas of the Ayodhya district from July 2017 to August 2020.
OpIndia visited both these places. Like in previous cases, these two plots also fell in different police jurisdictions from the Ram Mandir site.
Moreover, the first plot in Halkara Ka Purwa is at a distance of almost 15 km from the Ram Mandir site, while the plot in Korkhana is about 7 km away. Halkara Ka Purwa is located on the Ayodhya-Azamgarh road, while the Korkhana is on the outer limits of the Ayodhya Cantt area.
DSP Arvind Chaurasia is now the DSP of Meerut Kotwali. It may be noted that the DSP on whom The Indian Express has raised fingers, was behind the crackdown on Haji Galla alias Haji Naeem, the kingpin of Meerut’s auto theft syndicate. Recently, the Meerut police seized Haji Galla’s luxurious bungalow worth Rs 4 crore 10 lakh on the orders of the district magistrate. Moreover, his eight big shops were also seized and all his bank accounts were frozen.
In addition, the Uttar Pradesh police at the behest of the Yogi government had launched an investigation into 32 junkyards in Meerut’s Sotiganj Kabadi Bazar which are believed to be associated with Haji Galla aka Haji Naeem. Reports suggest that the Meerut police invoked the Gangster Act against the notorious scrap dealers who have been aiding Haji Galla in his car breaking business in Meerut. Haji Galla was also rumoured to have received political support from the previous governments in Uttar Pradesh.
The Maharishi Ramayana Vidyapeeth Trust (MRVT), a religious body based in Ayodhya is under the scanner for allegedly buying large parcels of land from Dalit owners in violation of norms. A case is also pending against the trust in the revenue court (administrative), Ayodhya. Maharishi Ramayan Vidyapeeth Trust is accused of buying land in Manjha Barhata and Shahnawazpur villages from its Dalit owners.
In The Indian Express report, these parcels of land have been linked to IAS MP Agrawal, presently ADM Gorakhpur Purushottam Das Gupta, Gosainganj MLA Indrapratap Tiwari alias Khabbu, current DIG Aligarh IPS Deepak Kumar and retired IAS officer of UP cadre Umadhar Dwivedi.
OpIndia team visited Barhata Majha, which again The Indian Express had claimed to be within a 5-km radius of the Ram Mandir site in Ayodhya. Three large parcels here were encircled by high boundaries and large gates. These lands, according to locals, had been purchased by the commissioner’s and DIG’s relatives. According to the allegations, a plot that lies at a distance of around one and a half km from these three large plots belongs to the relative of BJP MLA from Gosaiganj Indra Pratap Tiwari alias Khabbu.
It may be noted that Indrapratap Tiwari is currently lodged in the Ayodhya jail in another case.
Since not all MRVT lands are disputed, it’s unclear until now whether these are the same plots that are in dispute regarding its purchase from Dalits.
MLA Ved Prakash Gupta and Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay
The Indian Express report has meted out similar allegations against Ved Prakash Gupta, an MLA in Ayodhya and Rishikesh Upadhyay, the Mayor of Ayodhya. The accusations are that the BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta has acquired land in the name of his relatives in the Manjha Barhata village. Although this land is within a 5-kilometre radius of the Ram Mandir site, it was not purchased from the MRVT Trust. There are houses built on most of the land and the road conditions are not good. The MRVT Trust owns the majority of the land in this area, which is located near a dam built on the banks of the river.
Mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay is accused of illegally purchasing Dalit land in the village Kazipur Chitawa, which falls in the Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh. Though the distance between Ram Mandir and this land is barely over 5 kilometres, this land is also not owned by the MRVT Trust.
Former Ayodhya DM refutes Indian Express report alleging illegal land purchase
A day after The Indian Express published a report, Anuj Jha, who was the DM of Ayodhya from February 21, 2019, to October 23, 2021, had issued a statement refuting the Ayodhya illegal land deal accusation meted out at a few past and present officers of Ayodhya and slammed the media for dragging his name into the controversy.
The now Director at Panchayati Raj has posted his statement on his official Twitter handle, slamming the media for running false/misleading reports about him as a beneficiary in the land sale by Maharshi Ramayan Vidyapeeth Trust in District.
Jha clarified that neither he nor his father has purchased land from the MRV Trust nor does he have any relationship with any of the Trust’s land purchasers. He added that his father had purchased 320 square meters of land at a different place in Ayodhya for residential purposes from a person who is not related to MRV Trust and the land didn’t belong to any person of scheduled castes. All rules have been duly followed in this transaction.
The former DM of Ayodhya confirmed that the issue has nothing to do with the Ram Janmabhoomi Trust. He added that during his tenure, he received a complaint against the MRV Trust over the alleged illegal transfer of land belonging to a scheduled caste person to their name in 1996. The incident was investigated, and he took action to cancel the land transfer and vest it in the state government. The relevant court was notified of the request to cancel the transfer. According to Jha, all of the actions expected from the District Administration in this situation were taken without any benefit to the MRV Trust.
Jha concluded his statement by urging the media outlet to retract the false article and offer his family an explanation.
The Indian Express report alleging illegal land dealings within 5-km radius of Ram Mandir site
It may be noted that a report published by The Indian Express had claimed that after the Supreme Court’s verdict, some officials, MLAs, ministers, and relatives of the government officials purchased land in Ayodhya within a 5-km radius of the Ram Mandir site. The report said that at least 15 buyers of land around the Ram Mandir site included MLAs, bureaucrats who have or are serving in Ayodhya, and local revenue officials, or their close relatives.
These officials are either serving or had served in Ayodhya and their job was to authenticate land transactions. They were aware that in the future land will be acquired for the construction of the Ram Mandir at a high acquisition rate. Besides, acquired land will have a high commercial value also.
Soon other media houses followed suit. Zee News also accused Anuj Jha of illegally acquiring land within a 1 Km radius of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir during his tenure.
Yogi Adityanath orders probe
Following the media reports, the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh ordered an inquiry into the same. Special Secretary Revenue, Radhey Shyam Mishra was expected to investigate the matter and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister had ordered to submit the report to the government with relevant documents in the next 5-7 days.
