Dead MP chief minister sells land in Lucknow

In a bizarre incident, three-time Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shyama Charan Shukla sold a piece of land in Uttar Pradesh (UP) six years after his death.

The registration records at the Mohanlalganj tehsil reveal that Shukla sold his land at Meenapur village on April 2 for Rs 78 lakh. The records also show that Shukla furnished his voter’s identity card as proof of identification and address.
Shocked UP officials have ordered a high-level probe into the matter. An FIR has also been registered and the police have launched a manhunt to nab the buyer and the two witnesses.

According to officials, Shukla owned 21 bighas (a unit of land) at Meenapur village. There was no caretaker for the property, sources said.

The soaring real estate prices drew the attention of the fraudsters. A man, impersonating Shukla, got the land registered in favour of one Rakesh Bhardwaj. The fraudster had furnished Shukla’s voter identity card at the time of registration, sources said. The fraudsters also got a PAN card made in Shukla’s name, they added.
The fraud came to light after villagers approached Samajwadi Party MLA and apprised him about the incident.

The MLA then wrote to Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav seeking a probe. A preliminary inquiry has confirmed the sale. The government has now ordered the district magistrate to conduct a thorough probe and submit a report within seven days. The police did not rule out the possibility of connivance of the revenue staff. “We are also looking into the possible involvement of the tehsil employees,” officials said.
Shukla, the son of Madhya Pradesh’s first chief minister Ravi Shanker Shukla, had been the chief minister of the state on three occasions. He died in 2007.