The owner of Popular Builders, Raman Patel, is set to be released from jail after more than three years, as principal district judge D M Vyas granted him bail in the latest case regarding the alleged illegal occupation of a plot in Godhavi through forged documents dating back to 1983.Raman and his brother, Dashrath Patel, were CBI witnesses in the 2005 Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.
He had been incarcerated following accusations of attempted murder and domestic violence made by his daughter-in-law in August 2020. Subsequently, various FIRs were filed against the Patels for allegedly occupying land parcels using forged documents. The case for which he was granted bail on Tuesday was registered by Bopal police in November 2022.
According to Patel’s advocate, Manish Oza, the builder will be released on bail but must leave Gujarat to comply with the bail conditions imposed by the Supreme Court in another case of land fraud. Last November, the apex court had ordered his externment from Gujarat and directed Patel to inform the Gujarat police about his location by activating his mobile GPS device.
His cellphone must remain connected to the station house officer’s mobile phones to ensure his exact location is known. He was also instructed to stay in contact with two police stations – Vastrapur and Sola.
When the SC granted him bail, Patel was booked by the Bopal police based on a complaint filed by Ramkrushna Acharya. The Patel brothers, along with Saryudasji Bava, were accused of forging papers for a land deal in the name of Acharya’s grandfather and occupying a plot measuring around 63,772 sq m.