Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Jun 4: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday night arrested Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader and businessman Rohan Harmalkar for his alleged role as a mastermind in a large-scale land scam in Goa. Harmalkar is accused of conspiring to illegally appropriate land using forged title deeds and unlawfully selling properties without the consent of their rightful owners.
Harmalkar, who joined MGP in 2024 after unsuccessfully contesting the 2022 Goa Assembly polls as an independent from Cumbarjua, was taken into custody following ED raids across multiple locations on April 24-25 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Produced before a PMLA court on Wednesday, Harmalkar was remanded to ED custody for 14 days. He is already named in two land-grabbing cases under investigation by Goa police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) and was earlier arrested in November 2023 for allegedly assaulting a businessman.
ED stated that the raids uncovered forged property documents worth over Rs 1,000 cr, indicating manipulation of land records and fraudulent transfers of large land parcels in key tourist areas such as Anjuna, Arpora, and Assagao in Bardez Taluka.
“The investigation revealed Harmalkar, along with associates, hatched a conspiracy involving impersonation, fake documents, and tampering with revenue records to illegally appropriate land,” ED said in a statement.
The agency further disclosed seizure of original property documents worth more than Rs 600 cr. Proceeds from the scam were reportedly laundered through benami entities and invested in real estate, luxury vehicles, and other high-value assets. Investigations continue to identify additional beneficiaries and any government officials involved.
The Goa government formed an SIT in June 2022 to probe illegal land transfers, which examined 44 FIRs covering over 1.5 lac sq metres of land and led to 56 arrests, including government officials. A Commission of Inquiry, headed by retired Bombay High Court judge Justice V K Jadhav, was also appointed in September 2022.
Earlier reports revealed the Commission found systematic tampering of government records, including forged sale deeds with Portuguese-era calligraphy, allegedly in collusion with staff from the Directorate of Archives and Archaeology.