Getting into a land deal has turned out to be a nightmare for Rani Mukherjee. Wanting to build a house in Shirdi near Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district, Rani purchased a 11,000 square feet land in December, 2005 for Rs. 33 lakh from one Sampat More, but unfortunately the land was non-transferable and hence non-saleable.
The scam came in the limelight only after her father Ram applied for the addition of her name on the 7/12 extract (a document proving ownership). Later, they found that the said land was conditionally leased out for tilling by the State Farming Corporation to a certain Raman Kshirsagar, and that the land can be neither bought nor sold without prior approval. Kshirsagar carved up the land on the pretext of making a kiln, and eventually, sold it to 17 buyers instead of setting up the kiln. Sampat More happened to be one of the 17 buyers, who later went on to sell the same to Rani Mukherjee. The administration has sent an inquiry notice to all 17 buyers.
The district collector of Ahmednagar, Umakant Dangat, charged the Mukherjees saying that they should have enquired before getting into a transaction. He said, “Rani Mukerji’s father had come here a few days ago to have the land registered in their names but the land was already allotted for farming purposes.”
