Mumbai, Jun 4: Maharashtra government may prosecute Bollywood mega superstar Amitabh Bachchan if it was found that he has acquired farmland near Pune through any fraudulent means.

This was stated by revenue minister Narayan Rane said in Mumbai on Saturday.

Rane's comments came a day after a Uttar Pradesh court dismissed an appeal by Bachchan against an order cancelling transfer of land in his name on the ground that he was not a farmer in UP. The court said the allotment of the farmland in a village in Barabanki district by the previous Mulayam Singh government was an act of forgery.

"If it is found that he (Bachchan) is not a farmer then government will take back the land and file a case," Rane said.

The UP court verdict has already raised questions about validity of his agricultural land deal in Pune district.

"As per section 63 of the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act 1948, no person can purchase agricultural land in Maharashtra if he is not a farmer," a senior state government official said.

The Mulayam Singh Yadav government in UP had allotted three bighas (about 70,000 sq ft) of prime land in Barabanki district to Bachchan, who used the allotment as a testimonial to establish his credentials as a farmer to buy over 20 acres of agricultural land in Pune district.

The Pune District Collector in March 2006 had written to the Barabanki District Magistrate for authentication of Bachchan's testimonial.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had recently announced that the state government would seek a factual report from Uttar Pradesh and would take appropriate action on Bachchan's land deal in Pune district.

The land, two km from Pavna dam in Maval, was purchased in the name of Amitabh and his son Abhishek.

In March 2006, Bachchan produced documents approved by the UP government that certified him as a farmer who was cultivating agricultural land in Daulatpur village of UP, the official said. 

Kanoon ke dayre mein rahkar kar action liya jayega (action will be taken as per law), Mayawati told reporters here in reply to a question. 

in a guarded reaction to alleged irregularities in the purchase of land by Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Sunday said that the law will be allowed to take its course in the matter.
“Kanoon ke dayre mein rahkar kar action liya jayega” (action will be taken as per law), Mayawati told reporters here in reply to a question. Bachchan is in the eye of a storm following a land deal in neighbouring Barabanki district which had been termed illegal by a court in Faizabad.
On BSP’s stand on the next president of the country, Mayawati said a decision would be taken within the next two- three days.
Nexus
On being asked about the alleged nexus between some top industrialists and politicians during the previous regime, she said all “anti-people and illegal decisions” by the Mulayam Singh Yadav government would be probed thoroughly.
On whether her government would recommend a CBI inquiry into the alleged multi-crore food grain scam during the previous government, she said the government was ready to investigate every such scam but would do so only after a thorough inquiry. On whether her government would issue a fresh notification transferring the Ayodhya trial from Rae Bareli to the special CBI court here, she said she is yet to go through the files and a decision would be taken only after carefully examining them. Mayawati did not rule out the possibility of re- christening Amethi, the Lok Sabha constituency of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, as Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar. “Files ane dijiye ek-ek kar ke (let the files move one by one),” she quipped. Mayawati, during her earlier stint had renamed Amethi as Chatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Nagar. She said her government would take steps to redress the problems of the people in the Bundelkhand region.
“The government will address to the problems of the people in the region and initiate measures to resolve them soon,” she said. On the spread of Gurjar agitation in the western region of the state, Mayawati appealed to the people to maintain peace and harmony.
 

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