Belagavi: Forest, Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B. Khandre said that police have taken into custody MB Nemanna Gowda alias MB Manmatha for allegedly attempting to illegally acquire large tracts of forest and government land at Kengeri B.M. Kaval using forged documents.

Addressing the media, Khandre said the accused had submitted fake documents and obtained court orders in an attempt to grab 532 acres of forest and government land, of which 482 acres fall under forest land. He added that Manmatha had previously made a similar attempt to claim ownership over 512 acres and 26 guntas of forest and government land by producing false records.

Khandre said that following these attempts, the Assistant Conservator of Forests had lodged a complaint at the Mudigere Circle Police Station on November 28, after which the local Tahsildar also filed a complaint. Based on these complaints, police registered an FIR and have now taken the accused into custody.

He expressed confidence that the investigation would reveal the full conspiracy behind the attempted land grab, including identifying all individuals involved in facilitating the illegal claim over valuable forest and government land.

The Minister said he had observed that some officials and government advocates were directly or indirectly assisting land grabbers attempting to illegally acquire forest land worth thousands of crores of rupees.

In this regard, he has written to the Chief Minister, seeking a CID probe or a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to thoroughly investigate the matter.

Khandre issued a stern warning, stating that any attempt to encroach upon forest land through forged documents will not be tolerated.

“As Forest Minister, I will not allow anyone to grab forest land. This should serve as a warning to all,” he said.