A piece of the litigated land in Ghangapatna.Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 9: The crime branch today started probing into the much-talked about Ghangapatna land scam.

Armed with land-records and documents, a 12-member team of the crime branch, accompanied by officials of the Bhubaneswar tehsil, reached Ghangapatna on the outskirts of the city to find out irregularities in the sale and purchase of land.

The crime branch has got into action following an FIR filed by Bhubaneswar additional district magistrate Abanikant Patnaik regarding the land scandal. The crime branch has registered cases against three additional tehsildars, three revenue inspectors and some leaseholders. In its FIR, the district administration has mentioned irregularities in the sale and purchase of land in the area.

In its report to the state government, the district collector stated that there was discrepancy in the land records. While the original record of 1962 showed 607.888 acres of government land at Ghangapatna, the current record shows 542.049 acres.

Of this, 76 acres have been leased out. Patnaik, in his report to the government, claimed that 26 acres had been resumed to the government record and steps were being taken to bring back the rest 49 acres to the government’s possession.

“An area of 15 acres out of the 49.649 acres has been ordered for resumption in 15 cases. Action is required to be taken in respect of the rest land aggregating to 36.649 acres in 37 number of leases and two encroachment cases,” he said.

The Bhubaneswar tehsil office has submitted all the documents to the CBI. Briefing reporters here, crime branch DIG Rajesh Kumar said: “The team has been formed under the leadership of an additional superintendent of police.” Sources said the team would investigate the ownership, sale and purchase of the controversial land at Ghangapatna.

Many influential people, including Rajya Sabha member Kalapataru Das’s son Pranab Balabantray, who is also the Dharmasala MLA, and BJP state president K.V. Singh Deo, had bought land in the area.

While Balabantray said his trust called Gokarneswar Trust sold the land it had bought in the area, Singh Deo said his family had not bought land through fraudulent means.

But, mystery still shrouds the construction of a 3-km road through the Chandaka forest connecting a disputed 100-acre patch at Ghangapatna village. It is widely believed that the road was built to give access to the disputed patch. The forest department, which has finished its inquiry, said it had no idea about the ownership of the land or who was constructing the road.