Bhopal: A small patch of 1,520 square metres of ancestral land belonging to senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s mother, Aparna Devi, was fraudulently sold in Ambedkar Nagar district, Uttar Pradesh, in the 1990s.
The fraud came to light after a local resident approached Singh, seeking to purchase the land for his family. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that an imposter posing as Singh, but falsely listed as a resident of Ram Nagar, Mahoba, had already sold the land using fraudulent documents.
Anil Yadav was the one who initially contacted Singh regarding the land. He explained that until 1986, the land legally belonged to Singh’s mother.
“It was my aunt who gifted the land to my mother, and I was unaware of this. However, when some people approached me about purchasing it, I thought it was best for my niece to decide, as it was essentially a gift from my aunt to my mother,” Singh told ThePrint.
Singh subsequently handed over the power of attorney to his niece, but the situation took a dramatic turn when locals claimed they had already purchased the land and possessed legal authority over it.
“When the local administration measured the land, some individuals asserted that they had purchased it from its ‘original owner’—a man named Digvijaya Singh. However, this individual was fraudulently listed as a resident of Ram Nagar, Mahoba, rather than Raghogarh, Guna district, Madhya Pradesh,” Yadav told ThePrint.
Yadav further claimed that three individuals—Raj Bahadur, Jiyalal, and Mangai—had produced fake documents to show that they held power of attorney over the land, and subsequently sold it to a third party.
“To learn that someone claimed to have received power of attorney from my mother was suspicious. With my family present, why would an outsider have such authority? That is when I contacted the district collector, urging them to investigate. I have been assured that a committee has been formed to look into the matter,” Singh said.
Speaking to ThePrint, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Aalapur tehsil, Subhash Singh, confirmed that there had been no change in the original land records, which still list Digvijaya Singh as the legal owner.
“Based on Anil Yadav’s written complaint, we have initiated an investigation to determine what truly transpired. Further action will be taken based on the inquiry’s findings. However, according to official records, the land remains under Digvijaya Singh’s name, and the fraudulent sale was carried out using fake documents. We are actively working to apprehend the culprits,” the SDM said.
(Edited by Radifah Kabir)
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