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By:

Abhijit Mulye

21 August 2024 at 11:29:11 am

Multi-Crore ‘Land Jihad’ unearthed

Lawyer reclaims grabbed properties, exposes administrative lapses Advocate Sanjeev Deshpande Mumbai: In Bhusaval, a glaring example of what is being termed ‘Land Jihad’ has recently been brought to light, exposing a systematic grab of prime real estate worth hundreds of crores. At the center of this revelation is a hard-fought legal victory that successfully vacated ill-intentioned occupants from a plush property, prompting urgent calls for the administration to remain vigilant against...

Multi-Crore ‘Land Jihad’ unearthed

Lawyer reclaims grabbed properties, exposes administrative lapses Advocate Sanjeev Deshpande Mumbai: In Bhusaval, a glaring example of what is being termed ‘Land Jihad’ has recently been brought to light, exposing a systematic grab of prime real estate worth hundreds of crores. At the center of this revelation is a hard-fought legal victory that successfully vacated ill-intentioned occupants from a plush property, prompting urgent calls for the administration to remain vigilant against fraudulent land acquisitions. The catalyst for uncovering this massive scam was a protracted legal battle fought by the Central Cine Circuit Association (CCCA), an organisation comprising over 800 film distributors across Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Rajasthan. Seeking a headquarters and guest house for their traveling members, the CCCA purchased a sprawling 5,000-square-foot bungalow in a prime locality in Bhusaval from a senior Parsi individual residing in Mumbai. Although the sale deed was executed in 1993, the notice of ownership change inexplicably failed to reach or was ignored by the local city survey office. This administrative blind spot lay dormant until 2024, when the family of one Afzal Kalu Gawali forcibly entered the premises and took illegal possession of the property. Physical Muscle Lacking the physical muscle to evict the encroachers, the CCCA was forced into an agonising two-year legal marathon spearheaded by Advocate Sanjeev Deshpande. The fight demanded navigating a labyrinth of government offices, from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Bhusaval Sessions Court to the revenue tribunal, the High Court, and even Mantralaya. The process involved digging through decades-old records, exposing forged documents, and pleading with officials to rectify the injustice. The persistence finally paid off when the SDM ruled in favor of the CCCA on April 9, 2026. When the illegal occupants still refused to leave, police intervention was secured to forcibly vacate the premises, allowing CCCA employees to finally re-enter their headquarters on April 16 after a gap of nearly two years, said Sanjay Surana, president of CCCA. Fight Continues For Deshpande, the fight is far from over. During his exhaustive hunt for documents, he uncovered a deeply disturbing and systematic pattern of land grabbing operating in the region. The conmen utilised a calculated modus operandi. They tactfully acquired a power of attorney from the descendants of the original Parsi owners and forged purchase documents. Shockingly, the paperwork claimed that the CCCA bungalow, currently valued at around Rs 5 crore, was purchased by daily wage earners for a mere Rs 6 lakh. Deshpande discovered that this same syndicate had successfully encroached upon other highly valuable plots, including a six-acre cemetery (Aramgah) belonging to the Parsi Anjuman Fund and a significant parcel of land owned by the Masonic Lodge, an international religious institute. In total, the collective value of these illegally grabbed properties is estimated to easily surpass Rs 300 crore. The Masonic Lodge property is back to rightful owners after a battle at the High Court. But, for the Aramgah property, still much needs to be done, he said. This staggering real estate heist points to a severe breakdown in administrative oversight. Deshpande strongly emphasises that if the office of the Sub-Registrar at Bhusaval had conducted even a preliminary inquiry or verified the glaringly disproportionate financial details of these transactions, the fraudulent nature of the sales would have been immediately apparent.

Equity MFs inflow drops 26 pc to Rs 29,303 cr in Feb; SIP hit 3-month low

  • PTI
  • Mar 12, 2025
  • 3 min read

Updated: Mar 13, 2025


SIP hit 3-month low

New Delhi: Inflow in equity mutual funds dropped 26 per cent to Rs 29,303 crore in February, primarily due to a significant decline in investments in small and midcap schemes, amid continued market volatility.

This was the second consecutive month of decline in inflow in equity funds. The latest fund infusion by investors also marks the 47th consecutive month of net inflows into the segment.

Moreover, inflows into systematic investment plans (SIP) came at Rs 25,999 crore in February, making it three months low. Before this, SIP inflow was Rs 26,400 crore in January and Rs 26,459 crore in December.

"The SIP inflows have come down, but the drop is not significant, partly due to February being a shorter month as compared to January," Suranjana Borthakur, Head of Distribution & Strategic Alliances at Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India), said.

According to data released by Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) on Wednesday, equity-oriented mutual funds saw an inflow of Rs 29,303 crore in February, way lower than Rs 39,688 crore registered in January and Rs 41,156 crore in December.

However, the pace of investments moderated compared to the previous month due to increased market uncertainty and a broader correction in equities.

"While short-term headwinds have tempered investment flows, domestic investor confidence remains strong, as indicated by continued inflows. Investors are adopting a cautious yet steady approach, reassessing their portfolios while maintaining long-term investment commitments," Nehal Meshram, Senior Analyst - Manager Research at Morningstar Investment Research India, said.

Akhil Chaturvedi, Executive Director & Chief Business Officer, Motilal Oswal AMC, said that continuous monthly market correction has led to a slowdown of sales in February, this could also be partially attributed to a truncated month. Investors are being cautious in allocations and may postpone or stagger in the near future. Having said so, net sales of Rs 30,000 crore are also pretty healthy and the broader sentiment looks optimistic from a long-term wealth creation perspective.

Also, the sharp decline was attributed to reduced inflows in mid and small-cap funds, which saw a drop to Rs 3,406 crore and Rs 3,722 crore in February, compared to Rs 5,147 crore and Rs 5,720 crore in January, respectively. In large-cap funds, inflows totalled Rs 2,866 crore, down from Rs 3,063 crore in January.

Within the equity categories, sectoral/thematic funds witnessed the highest net inflow of Rs 5,711 crore, followed by Flexi Cap Funds with Rs 5,104 crore.

Apart from equities, gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw an inflow of Rs 1,980 crore against Rs 3,751 crore in January.

However, debt mutual funds registered an outflow of Rs 6,525 crore last month in February, a sharp reversal from the strong inflows of Rs 1.28 lakh crore in the preceding month.

Despite the outflows, liquid funds saw the inflow at Rs 4,977 crore, followed by corporate bond funds (Rs 1,065 crore) and short-duration funds (Rs 473 crore). However, several short-term debt categories witnessed heavy redemptions, with ultra-short duration funds (Rs 4,281 crore), money market funds (Rs 276 crore), low-duration funds, and overnight funds (Rs 2,264 crore) seeing the highest outflows. Together, these four categories accounted for 90 per cent of total redemptions, Meshram said.

Of the 16 debt categories, 10 recorded net outflows, indicating that the bulk of redemptions were concentrated in short-duration funds.

Overall, mutual funds attracted over Rs 40,000 crore in the month under review compared to a staggering inflow of Rs 1.87 lakh crore in January suggesting a cautious approach from investors in the mutual funds space.

This slump in inflow has pulled the overall assets under management of mutual funds down 4 per cent to Rs 64.53 lakh crore in February-end compared to Rs 67.25 lakh crore in the preceding month.

This comes in the backdrop of global uncertainties and macroeconomic factors, which led to a slump in benchmark index Sensex by 5.5 per cent in the month.

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