Robert Vadra has been the talk of the town for a long time, with multiple cases against him. Vadra is involved in property and money laundering charges. Republic TV conducted a massive 2-week investigation report trying to bring out the truth behind the Vadra case through Operation Vadra. The sting operation includes six exposes that hold importance in Robert Vadra’s involvement in various land deals that came under the scanner of Enforcement Directorate.
Republic TV, in order to expose Rober Vadra, after dozen of attempts recorded sensational comments of the two Nagar brother, who are considered to have close connections with Vadra and the land dealings. The two brothers, Lalit Nagar and Mahesh Nagar are also under the radar of the ED. Lalit Nagar is a Congress leader while Mahesh Nagar is supposedly a very close family friend of the Vadras and also their property dealer. The sting operation which is a two-part investigation has 6 exposes in the first part. It deals with the front men nexus, his alleged conduits, and how everything eventually came to benefit Robert Vadra.
The first expose by Republic TV, is titled, “Robert Vadra deals with forgery taint.” It reveals the fact that Robert Vadra’s property dealer already had a forgery taint. Mahesh Nagar mentions during the operation that one of the particular deals he initiated for Vadra had a history of “forgery”. Speaking to the reporter, Mahesh Nagar said, “The mistake I made. I got him the land. I got him the land in Rajasthan. I got the land in 2014. I got him a many land parcels. But there was one land where there was a lot of forgery done by the tehsildar and girdawar many times.” This clearly reveals the fact that despite knowing the controversies in the deal, Vadra and his dealers went ahead and bought the land.
It was surprising to know that Vadra did not buy anything in his name; he used different fronts and names in order to get the land. The second major expose was about the disclosure of “other” parties which Robert Vadra used names of, to register the land. Mahesh Nagar was also one of the contenders whose name was used to buy land for Vadra. When Republic Media Network followed up the disclosure asking Mahesh Nagar why Vadra was buying land in his name and not his own, he said, “How will he go to every place? This is my work. To decide the land. The location. What is the rate? He will not do this. He has to send someone.”
On being questioned if he was trying to save the family, Nagar said, “He is a big man of this country. It is not in my name. Whatever is in my name is my personal land. His land is in his name. I don’t have his land. Whatever he has kept in my name he has kept it in his company’s name or some other person.” A well-planned strategy was used to facilitate the deals, so as to help Vadra escape any scrutiny.
The 3rd exposes regarding Vadra’s Bikaner land purchase revealed that he had minted from poor being looted. The land that was bought by Ashok Kumar who is under arrest in the Vadra case, was the land that was designated for the rehabilitation of poor villagers and for the armed forces. In this part of the expose, Vadra’s property dealer Mahesh Nagar admits knowing Ashok Kumar and also discloses the fact that he was given a cheque by the company to be a signatory for the deal.
The papers issued by the ED also has Mahesh Nagar’s name, explaining the involvement of Ashok Kumar in the case, he said, “Yes. I know him. He is from my village. Ashok Kumar had bought the land. That is why he has been named. I bought it from him. And from me the company. My simple work was when the registry would take place, I used to be the signatory. And I was given the cheque.” These chilling details show how powerful people like Vadra use their position to benefit from the vulnerabilities of the poor and hamper the working of the defence forces of the country.
The 4th and 5th exposes in the sting operation brought out important names including Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Rahul Gandhi also bought land which he later sold, according to Nagar. Questions can be raised, as to why would Rahul Gandhi choose a shady dealer to buy and sell lands? Moreover, Vadra who has to this point denied the involvement of HL Pahwa and CC Thampi who are also under scanner by ED, were admittedly in touch with Mahesh Nagar.
When Mahesh Nagar was asked about these individuals by the Republic TV reporter, he said, “CC Thampi is not their man. CC Thampi is Pahwa saab’s man. He had bought a lot of land in Haryana.” In 2017, Republic Media Network confronted CC Thampi outside the ED office. In March, 2019, Republic Media Network brought forth documents that proved that HL Pawha was the man connected to a defence dalal which was linked to Robert Vadra.
Probing into the payment model, Mahesh Nagar exposed that the system of payment existed from the Indira Gandhi days and that it was in operation long before he had entered in an alliance with the Gandhi-Vadra family. He also admitted that his commission directly came from Vadra. Along with payment from Robert Vadra, Nagar was also getting money from “Pahwa sahib”.
Republic Media Network’s sensational sting operation raises multiple questions on how the Gandhi Vadra family allegedly used the Nagar brothers to fulfill their own property deals. After this sting operation by Republic TV, it will be difficult for the Congress party to cobble an explanation in the Vadra case.
