Amarmani buys Nagarkars house for Rs 70 lakh

LUCKNOW: After losing the court battle, former minister and Madhumita murder case accused Amarmani Tripathi bought Nagarkars'' house in Gorakhpur, which he had grabbed fraudulently 22 years go, for a whopping Rs 70 lakh in the name of his father Krishna Narain Tripathi.
Three sons of 94-year-old Shanta Ram Nagarkar - Chandra Kant, Suresh and Arun - signed the registered deed in the name of Amarmani''s father at registrar''s office in Gorakhpur on Wednesday, a day before the expiry of Allahabad High Court''s two-month deadline for handing possession of the house over to Nagarkars.
Amarmani''s brother Ajitmani Tripathi and a local businessman Hari Mohan Das negotiated the deal with Nagarkars, who had won the case after fighting it out in different courts for 19 years. Nagarkars were demanding Rs 80 lakh but the deal was finally struck for Rs 70 lakh. In addition, Amarmani also paid Rs 5 lakh as damages and towards cost of litigation to Nagarkars as directed by the HC.
In a landmark judgment, dated July 7 2004, Justice SU Khan of the Allahabad High Court had directed Amarmani to vacate the said accommodation in Humayunpur locality in Gorakhpur within two months from the date of the order. The HC had also directed Amarmani to pay Rs 2.64 as damages.
Nagarkar''s house was grabbed by Amarmani through a fraudulent allotment order about 22 years ago on December 1, 1982. Later, he demolished the old structure and constructed a palatial house worth Rs 1.5 crore on the disputed land.
Seeing no escape from HC order, Amarmani seems to have been left with no choice than to buy the house he grabbed 22 years ago for a staggering amount.
Nagarkars deny any pressure and are happy with the deal. "We discussed the offer with our 94-year-old father (Shanta Ram) and brothers. Since we already have separate houses, we decided to sell off the house to Krishna Narain Tripathi," claimed 66-year-old Chandra Kant, who had earlier refused to sign the deed if it was in the name of Amarmani.
"How could I sell the house to a person with whom I am not at talking terms and fought court battle for the last 22 years. His father KN Tripathi is a gentleman and we agreed to sell only when he approached us," said Chandra Kant.
"Justice has been delayed but I am happy that it came with the real value of our legal battle and property," says Arun Nagarkar.