State Bureau Raipur/Bilaspur/Mahsamund Apr 26 In a crucial development in the high-profile land acquisition scam linked to the Bharatmala project’s Vishakhapatnam-Raipur Economic Corridor, the State Economic Offences Investigation Agency and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) have arrested four individuals for orchestrating a sophisticated compensation fraud amounting to over Rs 2 crore. Following an extensive multi-location raid conducted on April 25 across 20 sites in Chhattisgarh, SEOIACB investigators have pieced together a deeply entrenched criminal conspiracy involving manipulation of land records and fraudulent disbursement of government compensation. The arrests include Uma Tiwari, Kedar Tiwari, Harmeet Singh Khanuja, and Vijay Jain.

 

According to SEOIACB sources, Uma Tiwari and her husband Kedar Tiwari fraudulently received compensation worth approximately Rs 2 crore, intended for another rightful claimant. Investigators revealed that Harmeet Singh Khanuja acted as an accomplice, colluding to unlawfully siphon off land acquisition funds intended for multiple genuine beneficiaries. Trader Vijay Jain was similarly apprehended for assisting Uma Tiwari in illicitly securing acquisition proceeds.

 

All four accused were produced before the Special Judge, Prevention of Corruption Act (PC Act) Court in Raipur and have been remanded to police custody for further interrogation. The FIR, registered as Crime No. 30/2025 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120B of IPC along with Section 7C of the Prevention of Corruption Act, details a systematic scheme wherein government-acquired lands were shown as private holdings, enabling wrongful claims. Key findings suggest that some parcels were deceitfully split into subplots, ensuring inflated payouts. SEOIACB officers emphasized that this action marks only the initial wave of arrests, with more detentions likely as the investigation deepens. Preliminary reports had already pegged the total economic damage to the State exchequer at around Rs 48 crore, a figure expected to rise as audit trails are uncovered.