Prestige Educational Trust holds no right; Land grab allegation looms over Anjarakandy Dental College

KANNUR: A report emerged that the Anjarakandy Dental College, now under investigation in the death of Nithin Raj, is operating on encroached land. The Kannur Taluk Land Board found that the 200 acres of land on which the college operates are surplus land that has been illegally acquired. The Land Board issued an interim order on the 5th of last month, cancelling all land transfers that have taken place on document number 133 since 1967.

The order is based on an investigation conducted by the board, which has Deputy Collector E. Sharafudheen as chairman and Vellora Rajan, P.V. Babu Rajendran and P.Prasadhan as members.

The dental college under the Prestige Educational Trust is located on land claimed to belong to the Randattara Estate, spread across Anjarakandy and Paduvilayi villages and the Anjarakandy Essential Oil Company. According to the KLR Act, everything related to these since 1967 is invalid. With this, the current owner, Abdul Jabbar Haji and his sons Jazeerat Jabbar, Jabir Jabbar and Junaid Jabbar will have no rights over the land. The order also states that the land was transferred to the names of three companies - Prestige Educational Trust, Royal Park Hotel Private Limited and Cinnamon Castle Private Limited - in a move to subvert the Land Reforms Act.

It will take at least a year to evict the encroachers and acquire the land, during which the opposing party can approach the court. If the High Court rules in favour of the government, the dental college will have to be closed within a year.

“Even if it is a plantation, specific documents have to be submitted to get a concession for plantation land. The current owners have not been able to produce any such document.” -Vellora Rajan, Kannur Taluk Land Board Member