Uttar Pradesh probe against Amitabh to be expedited

Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan could be in trouble as the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh is set to expedite a probe into alleged irregularities in the land allotted to him by the government.

Refuting reports of a fresh probe being ordered in the case, an official spokesman told IANS Thursday: "We have not ordered any new probe. The inquiry initiated on account of a judicial intervention is only being expedited now."

The actor was allotted some three and a half bighas (about 90,000 sq feet) of land at a prime site in Barabanki, 35 km from this state capital.

Bachchan is a close friend of Amar Singh, the high-profile general secretary of the Samajwadi Party that lost to Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in the state assembly elections this month.

Documentation put forth by Bachchan raised the suspicion that the allotment was done in a clandestine manner.

According to informed sources, Bachchan has mentioned his name only as "Amitabh" and dropped "Bachchan" also from his father Harvansh Rai Bachchan's name in an obvious bid to avoid identification.

"The objective behind the allotment was to not only get prime land for a song but also to entitle himself for acquisition of an agricultural plot of land in Maharashtra, where none other than a farmer could acquire agricultural land," a source pointed out.

A complaint is pending before the Election Commission against Bachchan's wife, Jaya Bachchan, for having concealed the ownership of the Barabanki plot as a part of her family assets that were declared when she filed her nomination for Rajya Sabha as a Samajwadi Party candidate.