Mumbai, May 19 -- Several civic officials, businessmen and politicians are under the scanner for their role in facilitating large-scale landgrab and illegal construction in the Vasai-Virar area, courtesy two ongoing probes into the construction of 41 illegal buildings in Vasai East, on a 60-acre plot reserved for public projects. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mira-Bhayander-Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police started investigating the matter in 2023, after the Achole police registered a first information report (FIR) as per directions of the Bombay high court. In September 2023, the EOW arrested former Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) corporator Sitaram Gupta. The former civic official and his associates fraudulently acquired the 60-acre plot in Agarwal Nagar in Vasai East and sold the land to various builders, the EOW found during its probe. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which recently launched a money laundering investigation into construction of the 41 buildings, Gupta is one of the perpetrators of illegal constructions in Vasai-Virar. The 60-acre plot in Agarwal Nagar includes 30 acres of land reserved for public projects, and another 30 acres owned by persons residing in New Zealand and Canada. When Ajay Sharma, caretaker of the privately-owned portion, visited the plot in 2008, he found construction was underway. "After I asked for documents and permissions for the construction work, (Sitaram) Gupta and his associates assaulted me near my home with swords," Sharma, a resident of Vasai West, told Hindustan Times. In 2018, Sharma filed a public interest litigation regarding illegal construction on the 60-acre plot in the Bombay high court. The VVCMC acknowledged in 2020, in response to a Right to Information application filed by Sharma, that the construction was indeed illegal. In June 2023, the Achole police registered a first information report in the matter, following directions issued by the high court. The FIR was based on a complaint by Sharma, who alleged that in 2009, Sitaram Gupta and his brother Arun Gupta colluded with the land mafia to make bogus documents pertaining to the plot at the behest of underworld don Chhota Rajan. They then sold the land to various builders, paving the way for construction of the 41 unauthorised buildings, Sharma alleged. In September 2023, the case was transferred to EOW of MBVV police, which found that Gupta had also issued a bogus completion certificate for one of the buildings on behalf of Cidco (City and Industrial Development Corporation) and VVCMC. The former corporator and his alleged associate Vijay Tambat alias Vijay Salvi were arrested in September 2023. In October 2024, the VVCMC told the Bombay high court that 30 acres in the 60-acre plot was reserved for a dumping ground and a sewage treatment plant. The court then ordered the civic body to demolish the 41 buildings on the plot. Over 2,000 families were left homeless due to the demolitions, a majority being factory workers, labourers, small business owners, and migrant workers. Meanwhile, Dhananjay Gawde, a former Shiv Sena corporator, brought the matter to the attention of the ED. Gawde had, in the past, exposed several unauthorised constructions in Vasai-Virar by filing Right to Information applications. He was named as an accused in several cases registered on the basis of complaints by affected developers, officials and politicians and was arrested in 2021. "I filed complaints with the ED keeping social interests in mind," said Gawde, who was released in 2023. "Corrupt officials were trying to help builders by displacing common people, which I brought to the notice of the ED." As reported by HT on March 18, the VVMC attempted to de-reserve the 60-acre plot and shift the sewage treatment plant to Gass village while demolition of the 41 buildings was underway. "VVCMC deputy director (town planning) YS Reddy was the main person behind this attempt as he wanted to hand over the plot to developers once it was vacant," said Gawde. The plan to shift the sewage treatment plant, however, was thwarted due to intense protests by Gaas residents. Last week, the ED conducted searches at 13 locations in Vasai-Virar and Hyderabad, connected with builders who constructed the illegal structures. The searches resulted in seizure of cash and valuables worth Rs.32.29 crore. Most of the cash and all the valuables were seized from the Hyderabad residence of Reddy. Another Rs.44 lakh in cash was seized from the Nalasopara home of Sitaram Gupta....