Nagpur News.
The property deal fraud involving Raje Raghuji Bhonsle, scion of royal Bhonsla family is getting murkier by the day. The controversy regarding the deal of ancestral property – Bhonsle Ghat on the banks of Ganges at Varanasi snowballed into the family feud with members from junior Bhonsle Palace also cropped up to stake claim on the said property. As the case came up for hearing on September 3 at Varanasi Court, Raje Raghuji did not turn up, because he has got stay on his arrest from Allahabad High court. Raghuji was given four weeks time to file reply which will be ending around September 25. The court has issued summons to Raghuji to remain present for the next hearing which would coincide with the end of stay period.
Meanwhile, Arun Gupta who has filed the case against Raghuji informed that Vishwanath Pandey, the counsel of Raje Raghuji as well as the holder of power of attorney of Bhonsle Ghat has confessed to the conspiracy for dropping him out of the deal.
Bhonsle Ghat has been sold by senior Bhonse family scion Raje Raghuji, first to a Noida based businessman Arun Kumar Gupta, who runs a charitable trust Sixth Sense Astro Gurukul and then to another Varanasi based person namely Aditya Gupta of Avantika Agro Services Private Limited. The double cross prompted Arun Gupta to file the fraud case against Raje Raghuji at Cantt. Police Station in Varanasi.
Talking to Nagpur Today Arun Gupta informed that it was the clear case of fraud and arrest of Raje Raghuji is inevitable, on the basis of the documents he possessed with him. Gupta, who was in Varanasi on Thursday, claimed that Raghuji’s lawyer and power of attorney holder Vishwanath Pandey has accepted before atleast eight witnesses including investigating officer of Varanasi Cantt police station that he along with Raje Raghuji, his divan Pradeep Deshmukh and the second buyer Aditya Gupta hatched the conspiracy to crack the deal with Aditya Gupta even after agreeing to sell the property to him.
Rs 1.5 crore ‘extra’ for new deal!
Arun Gupta alleged that Pandey has admitted to accepting extra amount of Rs 1.5 crores from Aditya Gupta to cancel the deal with him and proceeding with the second buyer Aditya. He said the amount agreed upon for his deal was Rs 2.60 crores whereas the amount shown in the registered document of Aditya Gupta is only Rs 30 lakh. “Can anyone expect any human to be such a saint to cancel the deal of Rs 2.6 crores and go for Rs 30 lakh to sell off his property, and even risk going to jail? These figures are quite contradictory to what Pandey has admitted, which states that they had taken Rs 1.5 crore extra from Aditya Gupta. This means they had agreed to the deal at Rs 4.10 crores.”
Income tax scanning deal
Arun Gupta informed that a separate inquiry has also been conducted in the huge evasion of stamp duty by showing short of Rs 3.80 crores in the registry. The income tax department is looking into the matter, he added. “Raghuji’s arrest is imminent as he cannot evade this for long time. The court has summoned him the next notice and if he does not appear again then warrant will be issued against him,” quipped Gupta. The most significant turn that Gupta claimed has appeared in the case is the confession of Pandey as he is very close to Raghuji and looks after all his property in Uttar Pradesh including the one in question.
All Bhonsle stake holders should get share, opines Arun Gupta
Meanwhile, family members from junior palace also talked to Arun Gupta and discussed with him regarding some finer threads into the case. Post this talk, Gupta was confident of having his way, provided Raje Raghuji tender apologies and mends his ways. “Both Laxman Singh and Pratap Singh from Junior Bhonsle Palace had contacted me. But it is not going to resolve the case unless Raje Raghuji takes the initiation,” he said. Gupta also signaled his positive interaction with junior Bhonsle members. “I am still ready for the registry as the property should legally be sold to us. The amount should be equally distributed among all the real stake holders of this property,” he quipped.
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