Forgery case against Lalit Modi

 

A forgery case has been registered against Lalit Modi, spelling more trouble for the cricket czar.

An FIR was lodged against Modi yesterday by one Roopa Ram Jat of Gogor village in Nagaur district, accusing him of purchasing land with the help of forged signatures on September 4, 2004, in order to become president of the Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA).

Under the association’s rules, to become its head one must be a native of Rajasthan or be a state government employee or have permanent property in one’s own district. Modi bought agricultural land in Nagaur, 290km west of Jaipur, with the help of the district cricket association secretary, Rajendra Singh Nandu.

But Jat, a local farmer, alleged that the signature of Modi was forged and false documents were presented during the registration of the land as the cricket official was not present in Nagaur at the time.

Nagaur superintendent of police Dilip Jhakhar confirmed that cases of forgery (Sections 467, 468 and 471) and criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B) had been filed against Modi. He also said that in order to become RCA president, one should not have been convicted in any case, but Modi did not disclose that he was once convicted of possessing drugs in the US.

In spite of repeated attempts, Modi could not be reached for comment. Jat skirted queries on why he filed the case after so many years, but denied any political motive.

“My main contention is how could an outsider like Modi corner the presidentship of RCA,” he said.

Modi, the chairman of the high-profile Indian Premier League (IPL), has been facing the heat over his alleged proximity to the previous Vasundhara Raje regime in the state.

The Congress government recently formed a committee to probe property deals, including one involving Modi, struck during the Raje regime. The cumulative value of the contracts that will be probed adds up to Rs 22,000 crore. One of the deals that could be investigated will be the one that gave the Modi-headed RCA the right to lease out the popular Sawai Mansingh Stadium, the venue of many IPL matches last year.

An RCA member, Anil Shekhawat, filed a case against Modi at the Jyoti Nagar police station on January 20 accusing him of misappropriating Rs 22 lakh of the association’s money.

Government sources said Modi is also likely to be in trouble for his reported illegal purchase of two havelis in the vicinity of the Amer Fort. The ownership of the havelis rested with the state government and was not transferable to private individuals.