Firm linked to BJP MLA surrenders land permit days after PM meeting

A construction firm linked to a BJP member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly has surrendered its building permit and relinquished possession of a disputed land plot, days after the landowner met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention in the long-running case. Asgar Ali Vohra, 81, who says he was a schoolmate of Prime Minister Modi at BN School in Vadnagar, Gujarat, met the Prime Minister on September 8. During the meeting, Vohra sought intervention in his 15-year dispute over a plot in Navghar, Bhayandar East, and also requested a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into alleged irregularities. Vohra claims he purchased approximately 2,810 square meters of land in the area in 1989. He alleges that in 2011, forged documents were created without his knowledge, fraudulently splitting the plot between two entities: Swayam Builders and Seven Eleven Construction Pvt Ltd. The latter firm is linked to BJP MLA Narendra Mehta. Following the Prime Minister's meeting, Maharashtra state officials took up the matter. On September 16, Chief Minister's Principal Secretary Shrikar Pardeshi chaired a meeting at the Mantralaya state secretariat.