BHOPAL: A tribal man from Ashok Nagar district of Madhya Pradesh holding a below poverty line (BPL) card has been found to be worth crores.
Kalyan Singh alias Kalla Saharia, from the primitive Saharia tribe in the state’s Gwalior-Chambal region, earns Rs 350 per month but owns more than 50 patches of agricultural land worth over Rs 25 crore in villages Kakaria, Mahabadia and Daulatpura in Huzur tehsil of Bhopal district.
Investigations by the income tax department revealed that they had been purchased between 2010 and 2015 for around Rs 6.5 crore, payment of which was made in cash and by cheques from the bank account of Kalyan Singh.
Funds to purchase the properties had flowed into the BPL card-holder’s account from a father-son duo heading a major building and real estate group in Bhopal.
Since the properties, totalling around 22 acres, were owned by tribals, they could not be purchased by a non-tribal. Taking advantage of the poor economic status of Kalyan Singh, the father-son duo purchased the 50-plus patches of land in his name. The properties, prima facie, come under the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, sources said.
The parcels of land have been provisionally attached for 90 days under the Benami law. Notices have been served to Kalyan Singh and the father-son duo, asking them to show why the properties shouldn’t be treated as benami properties.