After meeting PM Modi, schoolmate gets land back from BJP MLA - The Times of India

**PM Modi’s former schoolmate regains disputed land after a personal meeting**

New Delhi – An 81‑year‑old retired schoolteacher, Asgar Khan, who studied alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Rashtriya Shiksha Mandal school in Vadnagar, met the prime minister on Wednesday to raise a long‑standing grievance over a 2,810‑square‑metre plot of land in the Gujarat town of Kadi. Khan, who says the property was seized in 2007 by a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislator, alleged that the acquisition was carried out without proper compensation or legal sanction. The meeting, arranged through a senior aide of the prime minister, lasted about half an hour, after which the BJP MLA publicly announced the return of the disputed parcel to Khan’s family.

According to reports from *The Times of India* and *Rediff*, the MLA, whose name was not disclosed in the official statement, handed over the title documents to Khan’s son on the same evening. The handover was witnessed by local officials and recorded by media outlets. In a brief press conference, the MLA said the decision was taken “in the spirit of justice and after due consideration of the prime minister’s counsel.” The government has not commented on any formal investigation into the original seizure, but the swift resolution has drawn attention to the role of personal connections in addressing local grievances.

Khan, meanwhile, has called for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the original land grab, arguing that the episode reflects a broader pattern of politically motivated property disputes across the country. The BJP has maintained that the matter is now closed and that the return of the land demonstrates the party’s commitment to “rectifying past mistakes.” Opposition parties and civil‑society groups have urged a transparent inquiry, warning that ad‑hoc settlements risk undermining the rule of law if they bypass institutional processes. The episode underscores the delicate balance between political patronage and legal accountability in India’s rapidly evolving democratic landscape.