PATNA: Police on Friday arrested suspended Circle Officer Mahendra Prasad Shukla following several hours of questioning in connection with an alleged land fraud case involving 70 decimals of prime land valued at approximately ₹15 crore in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district. The former Musahari Circle Officer faces allegations of manipulating revenue documents, creating procedural irregularities during the land mutation process, and colluding with local land mafias. Investigators are working to identify the primary beneficiaries of the disputed transactions and establish whether other administrative personnel or intermediaries were involved in facilitating the illicit transfer of ownership.
Administrative Inquiry Preceded Friday Arrest
Shukla’s arrest comes in the wake of disciplinary proceedings initiated after a formal inquiry by the Muzaffarpur district administration on October 7. The administrative probe substantiated complaints regarding deliberate tampering with revenue files, improper processing of mutation requests, and suspicious dealings with organized land operators. Acting on the formal recommendations of the district magistrate, the state revenue department suspended Shukla from service and attached his headquarters to the Saran division pending criminal proceedings.
Investigators are examining whether the documented irregularities were clerical failures or a coordinated scheme designed to deliver unlawful possession of the ₹15-crore parcel to private buyers. Forensic teams and revenue specialists are auditing land mutation files and ownership deeds to determine whether forged papers were inserted into the official record books to alter title histories.
Objections Logged in Deceased Persons’ Names
The scope of the investigation expanded significantly after inquiries revealed that Shukla had entertained formal objections submitted under the names of deceased individuals. Authorities noted that legitimate mutation applications were deliberately left unresolved for months, while information requests filed under the Right to Information Act were routinely ignored. Police believe these bureaucratic stalls were constructed to block bona fide land claims, undermine original ownership titles, and confer illegal benefits on rival claimants.
Detectives are scrutinizing the exact sequence in which these dubious objections entered the administrative registry and how they were maintained across extended periods. The scrutiny extends to identifying the intermediaries who drafted the petitions in the names of dead individuals to prevent legitimate owners from completing standard mutation formalities.
Links to Ahiyapur Land Case Under Scrutiny
Police are also reviewing Shukla’s alleged involvement in a separate land-grabbing case registered under the jurisdiction of the Ahiyapur police station. In that previous instance, a first information report named Shukla alongside a revenue employee and Lok Janshakti Party MLA Amit Kumar Ranu. Investigating teams are cross-checking the revenue records of both cases to verify whether similar fraudulent mechanisms were employed across Musahari and Ahiyapur.
Authorities cautioned that while Shukla is named in both matters, a formal connection between the two criminal probes remains subject to ongoing verification. Police officials confirmed that the investigation is widening to bring intermediaries, subordinate revenue staff, and suspected members of local land syndicates in for formal questioning, with further arrests expected as document verification continues. The allegations against Shukla remain subject to trial in court.
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