Five farmers accuse Sattar, relatives of land grab

Five farmers and a social activist from Sillod have filed a massive 1,400-page complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging land grab by state agriculture minister Abdul Sattar, his relatives and close associates. They have also demanded a probe into the minister’s assets

Mumbai: Five farmers and a social activist from Sillod have filed a massive 1,400-page complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) alleging land grab by state agriculture minister Abdul Sattar, his relatives and close associates. They have also demanded a probe into the minister’s assets.

Mumbai, India - October 26, 2019: Newly elected MLA Abdul Sattar of Shiv Sena arrives to meet Party chief Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree in Bandra in Mumbai, India, on Saturday, October 26, 2019. (Photo by Kunal Patil/Hindustan Times) (Kunal Patil/HT Photo)

One of the complainants, Ashabai Borade, has alleged that a part of her ancestral land in Undangaon village has been encroached upon by a close associate of Sattar.

Another farmer, Tayyab Bademiyan Khan Pathan, alleged that Sattar’s son Ameer has constructed a political party office on the land owned by him. The land parcel is part of Pathan’s 16-acre ancestral land.

Other three farmers— Mukhtar Bagwan, Shafiq Pathan and Krishna Kapase—have also complained about similar instances through which Sattar or his relatives grabbed their lands.

Mahesh Shankarpelli, a social activist, who filed the complaint along with the farmers said, ‘’We have filed a complaint with the CBI as local authorities, including police are not paying heed to multiple complaints. In the last 20 years, Abdul Sattar has grabbed acres of land parcels in Sillod, but the administration is under political pressure not to take any action. On December 31, 2021, I filed a complaint against Sattar with the Enforcement Directorate (ED). We hope the CBI will take action against the minister without succumbing to the pressure.’’

The complainants have also accused Sattar of amassing disproportionate assets. The copy of the complaint is in possession of HT.

Recently, Sattar was under fire during the winter session of the legislative assembly for irregularities in a land allotment. He was also accused of forcing officers of his department to sell passes and collect funds for Sillod agriculture festival, which was launched by chief minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday. The opposition had pressed for his resignation citing the two cases.

Besides, the minister had courted controversy by using objectionable words against Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MP Supriya Sule. He has been facing heat as his four children were among the 7,880 candidates debarred by the state education department from reappearing for the teacher eligibility test (TET) over alleged malpractices.