Times News Network
The land documents were handed over to the farmers by deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi at a function organised by Rajkot district police
Rajkot: Thirty-six farmers who allegedly lost their 55 parcels of land to an alleged money-lending racket led by Alpesh Donga and his associates have regained ownership of around 500 bighas of land worth approximately Rs 100 crore.The land documents were handed over to the farmers by deputy chief minister Harsh Sanghavi at a function organised by Rajkot district police on Thursday.According to police, Donga and his associates lured farmers with offers of loans at low interest rates, taking their land documents as security. However, instead of executing mortgage agreements, they allegedly obtained the farmers’ signatures on documents transferring land ownership to themselves.The accused allegedly charged exorbitant interest rates and demanded hefty sums to return ownership of the land to its original owners, leaving the farmers struggling to reclaim their property.In coordination with the revenue authorities, Rajkot rural police investigated the cases and facilitated the reversal of the fraudulent land transfers, enabling the 36 farmers to regain ownership of their land.““These moneylenders have money and can hire senior lawyers, while poor farmers become exhausted from making repeated visits to courts. It becomes difficult for them to fight legal battles to reclaim their land while also earning a livelihood and supporting their families,” Sanghvi said.Sanghavi also innagurated divisional police office in Shapar area and allotted Indian citizenships to few people who were seeking it since long.
