A suspended circle officer in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district has been arrested in connection with an alleged land fraud involving 70 decimals of land valued at around Rs 15 crore, with investigators examining suspected manipulation of mutation records and possible links to land mafias.
Mahendra Prasad Shukla, the former circle officer of Musahari, was arrested on Friday after several hours of questioning, Muzaffarpur senior superintendent of police Kantesh Kumar Mishra confirmed. The arrest followed an inquiry by the Muzaffarpur district magistrate into complaints relating to Shukla’s conduct while handling land administration matters.
“Shukla had earlier been suspended following an inquiry by the Muzaffarpur district magistrate on Oct 7. Complaints against him included alleged irregularities in land mutation, manipulation of land records and collusion with land mafias,” Mishra said, according to the report.
Acting on the district magistrate’s recommendation, the state revenue department had suspended Shukla and designated the Saran division as his headquarters during the suspension period. The allegations under investigation include accepting objections filed in the names of deceased persons, deliberately keeping mutation applications pending for months and failing to provide information sought under the Right to Information Act.
Mutation is the administrative process through which changes in land ownership or possession are entered into revenue records. Irregularities in that process can affect the documentation used by property holders, heirs and buyers, while prolonged delays can leave ownership disputes unresolved. In this case, investigators are examining whether forged documents and irregular mutation procedures were used to benefit intermediaries or land mafias.
The case also intersects with an earlier land-grabbing investigation in the Ahiyapur police station area. Shukla’s name had figured in that case, in which an FIR was registered against Lok Janshakti Party MLA Amit Kumar Ranu, a revenue employee and the circle officer. The supplied report does not establish whether the two matters are connected.
Police are now examining land records, documents and the roles of other suspected persons. Mishra said investigators were probing whether the cases were linked and whether other officials, intermediaries or land mafias were involved in the alleged fraud.
Further action is expected after investigators complete their examination of the records and documents and determine the roles of the other persons under scrutiny.
