Kumar Bahukhandi
Schoolmates, Decades Later: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets his former BN School classmate Asgar Ali Vora, 81. Vora approached the Prime Minister on September 8 over a nearly 15-year-old land dispute in Maharashtra’s Bhayandar. Days later, BJP MLA Narendra Mehta relinquished possession of the disputed property and surrendered the construction permission associated with it. (Photo: Social Media)
Asgar Ali Vora, 81, raises his long-running Bhayandar property dispute with former schoolmate Narendra Modi; BJP MLA Narendra Mehta subsequently relinquishes possession and surrenders construction permission
Key Highlights
- Asgar Ali Vora, 81, studied with Narendra Modi at BN School in Vadnagar.
- Vora met the Prime Minister on September 8, 2026, seeking intervention in his long-running Bhayandar land dispute.
- Vora says he purchased approximately 2,810 sq metres of land in 1989 and never transferred it.
- BJP MLA Narendra Mehta subsequently relinquished possession of the disputed property and surrendered the construction permission.
- A police complaint against Vora was also withdrawn following the settlement.
- Vora’s allegations concerning forged documents remain allegations, and he has sought a CBI investigation.
New Delhi/Mumbai: A meeting between two former schoolmates has brought an extraordinary turn in a property dispute that had remained unresolved for nearly 15 years
Asgar Ali Vora, an 81-year-old resident of Mira Road who studied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at BN School in Vadnagar, met Modi on September 8 and sought his intervention in a long-running dispute over land at Navghar in Bhayandar East, Maharashtra. Within days, the dispute moved towards settlement, with BJP MLA Narendra Mehta relinquishing possession of the contested property and surrendering the construction permission associated with it.
Vora had alleged that land belonging to him had been taken over through disputed documents by developers, including a company associated with Mehta. The allegation of encroachment and document forgery was made by Vora and should not be treated as an independently established finding against the MLA or the companies involved.
From Vadnagar Classroom to the Prime Minister’s Office
The personal connection gives the case an unusual dimension.
Vora and Modi studied together at BN School in Vadnagar, Gujarat. Decades later, Vora approached his former schoolmate not merely for a reunion but with a grievance he said had remained unresolved despite years of pursuing government authorities.
According to Vora, he purchased approximately 2,810 square metres of land in Navghar, Bhayandar East, in 1989 through a registered agreement and had never sold or transferred the property.
He alleged that documents subsequently emerged in 2011 dividing the land without his knowledge. One portion was linked to Swayam Builders and another to Seven Eleven Constructions, a company associated with Mehta. Vora has alleged that the documents were forged and has sought a CBI investigation into the matter.
The dispute continued for years, with Vora saying that repeated approaches to government authorities failed to produce a resolution.
That changed rapidly after his September 8 meeting with Modi.
Mantralaya Meeting Brings Breakthrough
Following the meeting with the Prime Minister, Maharashtra government officials took up the matter. A meeting was held at Mantralaya involving Vora, Mehta and senior civic officials, including representatives of the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation.
Mehta subsequently informed the authorities that he was relinquishing possession of the disputed property and surrendering the construction permission granted for the site. A police complaint earlier lodged against Vora was also withdrawn following the settlement between the parties.
Seven Eleven Construction had obtained construction approval for the property in April 2026, according to reports, but has now sought cancellation of that permission.
The developments mark a dramatic change in a dispute that Vora says had consumed nearly 15 years.
The episode also raises a broader administrative question: why did a property dispute pursued through official channels for years move towards resolution only after the complainant obtained access to the country’s highest political office?
The available reporting establishes the sequence — Vora met Modi, officials subsequently examined the matter and the parties reached a settlement — but it does not by itself establish every allegation Vora has made concerning the earlier ownership documents.
For Vora, however, the outcome represents a remarkable conclusion to a battle that had stretched across years of petitions and official representations.
And behind the property dispute lies an unusual human story: two men who once shared a classroom in Vadnagar met again decades later — one as an elderly citizen pursuing a grievance and the other as the Prime Minister of India.
