Jains residing in Mumbai wrote to the Chief Minister of Gujarat demanding protection to their native residences and properties in the state. The community has alleged that multiple properties belonging to the Mumbai-based Jains have been encroached by locals and have threatened to disinvest their properties.

A large population of Jain sub-communities have migrated from different parts of Gujarat to Mumbai over a period of time. While these communities have accepted Mumbai as their home, they still own properties, including homes, land parcels and agricultural lands, in their native villages.

However, the Jain Vagad Oswal sub-community from the Vagad area of Kutch has alleged that multiple such properties have been sold-off by miscreants outside the knowledge of the owners, who are based in Mumbai.

On Friday, Team Vagad Charitable Trust, an organisation representing the Vagad Oswal sub-community, wrote a letter to Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi demanding protection to the community’s properties. The letter urged the state government to implement necessary provisions to protect such properties and take legal action against the perpetrators of these property-related crimes.

“Media reports have highlighted multiple such instances in the last month where properties belonging to the Mumbai-based community members have been sold off illegally. This has come as a wave of shock for the community and our members have been worried about their assets. If this continues, we will disinvest from the region which will hit the local economy,” read the letter.

The letter also warned the government that if such instances do not stop, the community will unanimously migrate their investment from the Vagad region. It urged the government to direct the state administration to take steps to remove the sense of insecurity from within the community.

Laxmichand Charla, chairman trustee of Team Vagad, said, “The community has been living in the Kutch-Vagad region for over 400 years. Since the land prices are skyrocketing due to Narmada canal, wind farms, solar projects and industrialisation, and some people are taking undue advantage by illegally selling our community’s properties. If this doesn’t stop, we will be forced to sell off all our properties.”