Click to play videoGurgaon: Richard Raphael owned and lived in a Gurgaon house from 1982 to 1998. He then moved to Kolkata. A month ago, his neighbour called to say that his property had been taken over.
“These guys were so sure of themselves, that they could stay inside the house illegally and not even bother with locks,” Richard said.
A panicky Richard returned to Gurgaon and went to the local police. However, they refused to help. In fact, a constable advised Richard to “negotiate the deal”.
It was then that Richard realised his house had been taken over by the land mafia.
He approached CNN-IBN for help. At Richard's house, the CNN-IBN team met Sushil Kumar Sharma, who claimed he had been a tenant for four years.
CNN-IBN: Aap kiraya kitna detein hain? (How much rent do you pay?)
Sushil Sharma: Kitna bataoon? (What do I say?)
CNN-IBN: Jitna detein hain utna bataeiye? (Tell us whatever you pay.)
Sushil Sharma: Rs 600 (600 rupees)
Sushil admitted to paying Rs 600 for a property worth Rs 2 crore. The CNN-IBN team asked him if a “deal” could be struck.
This is what he said, “Nahi bhaisaab mein party nahi hoon. Aap galat soch rahein hain. Meri koi aaukaat hi nahi hain. (I'm not the main ‘party'. You have misunderstood. I'm nobody ‘big’.)
Sharma said we should talk to his lawyer, Kulbhushan Bharadwaj. Bharadwaj is also a prominent local BJP party member. He said we would have to negotiate.
“You should consider yourself lucky we are not contesting your actual ownership of the property,” he said.
Soon Bharadwaj and Sharma told us what they really wanted. “Talk freely now, how much do you really want?” Bharadwaj asked.
“I want 10 per cent,” Sushil demanded.
So it was decided that Richard would have to pay Rs 20 lakh to get his own home back. Bharadwaj said we could “settle matters” in Rs 10 lakh and that came with a guarantee.
“Just put a board outside saying 'Kulbhushan Bharadwaj, Advocate', don’t mention BJP anywhere. Nobody will dare to enter,” he said.
He also offered another alternative. “We have clients who are willing to buy your house. You get the house registered in their name. Getting rid of the goons is our headache,” he said.
Meaning, sell the property to him at a much lower price and get rid of the problem. A week later, CNN-IBN reported the matter to the Gurgaon police, who had Richard's house vacated within a day.
“I can’t tell you how grateful I am. It’s a miracle that the problem has been sorted out in such a short while,” said Richard.
Bharadwaj and Sharma are just pawns working for the land mafia and if the police do not crackdown on the masterminds, things will be back to ground zero.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
MOST SHARED
PHOTOGALLERY
