Cites evidence of fraudulent sale deeds
PANAJI
The Sessions Judge, North Goa, has rejected the bail application of alleged land-grab accused Rohan Harmalkar, holding that material evidence indicates his involvement in fraudulently executing sale deeds.
Harmalkar had filed a fresh bail plea following a direction from the High Court of Bombay at Goa, which on November 20 directed the Special Court, Panaji, to decide his application within three weeks of receiving it.
In his fresh plea, Harmalkar claimed he was wrongly implicated, maintained that he had always cooperated with the investigation of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), and alleged that neither he nor his family was informed of the grounds of arrest in time. He further contended that his name was brought into the case to malign the political image of the applicant because he had contested elections at one time and is likely to contest the Zilla Parishad Elections.
After hearing submissions from both sides, Judge Irshad Agha observed, “There is material against the accused that the sale deeds have been fraudulently executed by the accused. The provisions of the Special Act have been invoked. Therefore, both under the facts of the present case and considering the law on the subject, the applicant is not entitled for bail.”
Harmalkar was arrested by the ED in June, over a month after the agency unearthed a Rs 1,600-crore land scam in Goa. He is accused of illegally acquiring large tracts of unattended land, mainly in Bardez. As per the ED, he had prospective buyers from the NCR and other northern states for properties valued at over Rs 1,000 crore. The agency also seized original documents linked to assets worth over Rs 600 crore.
The ED identified Harmalkar as the alleged mastermind, claiming he orchestrated a network of impersonators and used forged documents to sell properties belonging to private individuals and family estates without their knowledge or consent.
