Ex-MLA accused of fraud to grab Rajasthan silica mines

A controversy has erupted over the biggest silica mines, located at Bhaunda village in the Vair tehsil of Rajasthan's Bharatpur district, following reports of some trickery in the partnership deal.

One of the partners has accused a former legislator of fraud, forgery, using fake signatures and applying political pressure to get rights of the mines for his own family.

In a police complaint lodged recently, Mukesh Chand, one partner of the mining firm, has accused Atar Singh Bhadana, other partner and former Bayana MLA, of forging papers to show the annulment of partnership with ulterior motives.

According to the police officials, Mukesh Chand, a Jaipur resident, in his compliant said he and his relative, Subhash Chand, had a 50-50 partnership in mines in Bhaunda village.

However, in 2011, the MLA using his political clout lured Subhash Chand to make him a partner and got a new power of attorney filed. It kept Mukesh out from the partnership and Kuldeep Nagar, a relative of Bhadana, was introduced as new partner in the company.

The report further alleges that former MLA got a forged partnership deed made with the help of tax consultant Trilokchand Jain and Praveen Gupta. Through these papers, Bhadana tried to introduce his wife Kamlesh and son Arjun into the partnership, while annulling the rights of Mukesh.

Forged documents were presented in different offices and departments, which included mines, environment, and the Registrar of Companies (RoC).

According to sources, Bhadana has been running these mines for years. Earlier, the mine was not earning profit due to disputes. But it started making huge profits, later. Silica sand mines are considered to generate huge profits compared with other mines.

Officials confirmed that the forged deed created in December 2011 was neither signed by notary nor registered. It neither has signatures of stamp buyers nor mention of stamp usage. When the deed was submitted to the RoC in Bharatpur in 2016, it had forged signatures of the complainant.

Surprisingly, the RoC changed the partnership papers, overlooking all issues.

Meanwhile, the police officials concerned could not be reached as they reportedly were engaged in a serious operation.

( With inputs from IANS )