PUNE, 2 June 2007 — The Maharashtra government, through the Pune District Collector, has faxed an express letter to the Collector and District Magistrate of Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh last evening seeking details of Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan's land in Daulatpur village in Barabanki district.
The action, on part of the Maharashtra government, follows the dismissal of the revision appeal filed by the actor in the court of additional divisional commissioner of Faizabad Division.
Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had said his government would take strong action against Bachchan if it is proved that he is not a farmer and did not possess any agricultural land.
Yesterday the court of Additional Divisional Commissioner, Faizabad Division, dismissed the revision appeal filed by Bachchan in which he had challenged the cancelation of land allotment to him by the Collector and District Magistrate of Barabanki. Bachchan had claimed that the land was allotted to him by the previous Samajwadi Party government headed by Mulayam Singh Yadav.
The whole exercise behind the allotment of agricultural land to Bachchan was to enable him to purchase agricultural land in Maval district in Pune, which he acquired on the basis of the certificate from the civic administration of Barabanki which identified him as a 'farmer'.
According to the laws in Maharashtra, agricultural land can only be purchased or sold by farmers. A senior official of the Pune Collectorate said that the government would file a criminal cognizable offense against Bachchan under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.
