Modi's school friend Asgar Vora gets disputed land back from BJP MLA after meeting PM

Asgar Ali Vora, 81, a school friend of PM Narendra Modi, got back his disputed land from BJP MLA Narendra Mehta in Maharashtra's Mira-Bhayandar after meeting the PM. Mehta said he was relinquishing possession of the plot and withdrawing a police complaint against Vora.

In Short

• Asgar Vora met PM Modi, and apprised him of his property dispute
• Alleged forged docs and builder encroachment on his land since 2011
• BJP MLA gave up possession and construction permission for disputed plot

Asgar Ali Vora, an 81-year-old school friend of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has got back his disputed land in Maharashtra's Mira-Bhayandar after meeting the Prime Minister and seeking his intervention in the decades-old property dispute.

Days after the meeting, BJP MLA Narendra Mehta said on Tuesday that he was relinquishing possession of the disputed plot, returning the construction permission granted for it. He also withdrew a police complaint against Vora after a settlement between the two sides.

Vora, who studied with PM Modi at BN School in Gujarat's Vadnagar, met the Prime Minister on September 8 and alleged that builders linked to Mehta had encroached upon his land in Bhayandar East.

During his meeting with PM Modi, Vora claimed that he purchased around 2,810 square metres of land in Navghar, Bhayandar East, through a registered agreement in 1989 and never sold or transferred it. He alleged that forged documents were prepared in 2011 and that the property was subsequently divided into two portions without his knowledge.

According to Vora, Swayam Builders was shown as being in possession of one portion, while the other was linked to Seven Eleven Constructions, associated with Mehta. He also alleged that the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation's Town Planning Department granted construction permission on the disputed land despite his ownership claim.

Vora has sought a CBI probe into the alleged forgery and the role of builders and government officials. He has also alleged that officials in the municipal, revenue and police departments failed to act on his complaints.

He said he had filed an FIR over the alleged forgery in 2015, but claimed that the CID report in the case was submitted only this year. He questioned the delay and alleged that political pressure may have played a role.

OFFICIALS ACT, BJP MLA GIVES UP DISPUTED LAND

Following Vora's meeting with PM Modi, senior officials in Maharashtra took up the matter.

On Tuesday, Chief Minister's Principal Secretary Shrikar Pardeshi chaired a meeting at the state secretariat attended by Vora, Mehta, Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation Commissioner Radha Vinod Sharma and Town Planner Purushottam Shinde.

During the meeting, Mehta submitted a letter to the Town Planning Department saying he was relinquishing possession of the disputed land and returning the construction permit. In the letter, he said the land had been purchased from Mervyn Fernandes in 2019.

In a separate letter to the police commissioner, Mehta said he was withdrawing the earlier complaint against Vora following a settlement between the two parties.

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