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A case was filed on Monday against Congress Overseas Chief Sam Pitroda alias Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda and others in the Special Anti-Land Grabbing Court. The case involves the alleged illegal use of government land in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Sam Pitroda, the president of the Congress (I) overseas unit, Darshan Shankar, the founder of the FRLHT (Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions) organisation and four senior Karnataka Forest Department officials are accused of allegedly grabbing government land. In 1996, FRLHT obtained a 5-hectare (12.35-acre) piece of reserve forest land in Jarakabande Kaval, near Yelahanka, on a five-year lease from the Karnataka State Forest Department. This lease was renewed in 2001 for 10 more years. However, the lease expired in 2011, and since then, FRLHT has allegedly continued to occupy the land illegally for over 14 years. The land is valued at more than 150 crore rupees and has a market value of more than 300 crores. It is reported that the organisation has allegedly made around 5 to 6 crore rupees annually by selling rare herbal plants grown on the land. A complaint was filed with the Lokayukta and the Enforcement Directorate on February 24, 2025, regarding this issue. Based on the complaint and supporting documents, criminal cases were filed today in the Special Court for the Prevention of Land Grabbing in Karnataka, accusing Sam Pitroda, Darshan Shankar, and four senior Karnataka Forest Department officials of alleged illegal land grabbing. Recently, Congress Overseas Chief Sam Pitroda claimed that he does not own any land, home, or stocks in India and has never accepted a salary during his tenure with the Indian government, as he refuted recent media reports while also asserting that he has never paid or accepted a bribe in India or any other country in his 83 years of life. Taking to X, Pitroda posted: "Statement for the Record. In light of recent reports in the Indian media, both on television and in print, I wish to categorically state the following: I do not own any land, home, or stocks in India. Additionally, during my tenure working with the Government of India--whether with Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the mid-1980s or with Dr Manmohan Singh from 2004 to 2014--I have never taken/received any salary." (ANI)
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