Updated on
Summary
Indian President Pratibha Patil's husband has been asked to return a plot of land he allegedly appropriated from a farmer, news reports said Wednesday. Authorities in the western state of Maharashtra ordered that Devi Singh Shekhawat return the disputed 0.9 hectares in the eastern Amravati district to its rightful owner, farmer Kishore Bansod. A local administration official in the district's Daryapur area issued the order, following a complaint filed by the farmer in June. In his petition, Bansod, who belongs to the oppressed Dalit community, alleged that Shekhawat and five relatives took possession of the land, situated in a prime location, and had it transferred to their names. Dalits form the lowest rung of India's ancient caste system and were earlier treated as untouchable. Bansod complained after finding that the land's ownership title in the government records had changed. The order was passed in December, but Bansod received his copy earlier this week, the report said. The case has come as an embarrassment for the president's office as well as the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance. The president's office said the Shekhawat is a private citizen and enjoys no special privilege. The Congress party meanwhile distanced itself from the controversy and refused to comment on the matter. Patil, India's first female president, is no stranger to controversy. Her presidential candidature in 2007 was clouded by allegations of nepotism, sheltering murderers, corruption and fraud. Patil also claimed to have communed with the spirit of a dead guru, who told her she would occupy a position of great responsibility.
