MP Minister in dock over land scam

Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta has registered a case against State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Paras Jain, his wife and two others in connection with an alleged land scam in Ujjain district.
The case was filed yesterday on a complaint lodged by one Bhupendra Dalal with the Bhopal unit of the anti- corruption ombudsman, Lokayukta sources said.
The others named in the complaint are former BJP Minister Kamal Patel and ex-Tahsildar of Ujjain Nityanand Pandey.
According to the complaint, Jain illegally acquired several hectares of Government land in Ujjain and showed them as privately owned by allegedly entering into a forged agreement with a local resident.

In 2005, the Minister transferred the land in the name of his wife Angoorbala and brother with the help of Pandey, the then Tahsildar of Ujjain, it said.
Patel, the then Revenue Minister, had written a letter to Ujjain Collector asking him to overlook objections raised over transfer of the Government land, Dalal has alleged.
Despite repeated attempts, Jain was not available for comment.
Lokayukta will conduct its own probe into the complaint before deciding on filing an FIR under IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, the sources said.