A retired farmer from Gujarat's Morbi district has taken legal action against officials of a state-run power utility, accusing them of a brazen act of cheating, forgery, and illegally seizing his agricultural land for a high-tension power line.
Forgery and Illegal Installation Alleged
Jaysukh Ahir, a 61-year-old resident of Mota Dahisara village, has filed a formal complaint at the Maliya Miyana police station. The retired technical assistant alleges that officials from the Gujarat Energy Transmission Corporation Limited (Getco), including deputy engineer J M Viramgama, used fabricated documents to show his consent for installing a 132 kV power pole on his field.
Ahir states that Getco officials first approached him in 2018, informing him that a power line would pass through the village and a pole was planned for his land. He clearly refused to grant permission. However, during a subsequent visit to the field with his mother, he was shocked to find that the company had broken open the gate, damaged standing crops, and installed the pole without any approval. He further claims that transmission wires were strung across his property in his absence.
RTI Query Reveals Compensation Scam
After his initial complaints to the Morbi district collector and police yielded little result, Ahir filed a Right to Information (RTI) application to uncover the truth about any compensation. The RTI reply revealed a startling fraud.
The documents indicated that 14 panchayat assessments conducted between July 13 and 17, 2018, had recommended a compensation of Rs 2.66 lakh in his name. Ahir vehemently denies ever signing any documents to this effect. The RTI papers showed the signatures were allegedly made in the presence of Getco official Viramgama, with two individuals named Magan Maganbhai and Arjan Ramabhai listed as witnesses.
Upon deeper investigation, Ahir discovered that the compensation money was not issued to him. Instead, it was allegedly diverted to a person identified as Kachra Lakhabhai, who was falsely recorded as the landowner in the records.
Police Register Case Against Getco Officials
Based on Ahir's complaint, the Maliya Miyana police have registered a formal case. The First Information Report (FIR) has been filed under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including:
- IPC 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust)
- IPC 420 (Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property)
- IPC 427 (Mischief causing damage)
- IPC 114 (Abettor present when offence is committed)
The case highlights serious allegations of corruption and forgery within a state-run infrastructure project, raising questions about the protection of farmers' rights and land ownership in Gujarat.
