Kamal Nath sought father's land. Then a fake will and death certificate surfaced

A land dispute involving former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress leader Kamal Nath has taken a criminal turn in Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor district, where a purported will and a death certificate allegedly bearing a false date were used to stake a claim to his late father's agricultural land.

The case came to light after Nath approached the Najibabad tehsil to have the property transferred to his name, only to discover that a dispute over the land was already pending before the tehsildar's court.

According to the complaint, Nath's father, Mahendra Nath, owned and possessed agricultural land in Amikhanpur village under the Najibabad tehsil. The family had not regularly visited or supervised the property for years, as the land had been given out in a sharecropping arrangement. Police suspect that this prolonged absence was exploited to take control of the property through disputed documents.HOW A LAND TRANSFER APPLICATION EXPOSED THE DISPUTE

The matter surfaced on May 18, 2026, when an application was filed on Nath's behalf seeking to have the inheritance of his father's land recorded in his name. The property, identified as plot number 429 in Amikhanpur village, measures 2.1560 hectares, according to the FIR.

As the application was processed, the concerned revenue officer flagged the land as disputed and forwarded a report to the tehsildar. It was during this process that Nath learnt that a case concerning the same property was already pending in the tehsildar's court.

The pending proceedings involved a case titled Dharampal Singh versus Gram Sabha. Further examination of the matter revealed that Dharampal Singh had submitted a will to support his claim over the land, according to the complaint.THE WILL COMES UNDER SCRUTINY

According to the FIR, the will submitted in support of the claim was dated October 7, 1998, and was unregistered. Nath's complaint describes the document as forged and fabricated, alleging that information relating to his father, Mahendranath, had been used in it.

Police are examining the documents and the circumstances under which the will was produced in the pending court proceedings.

The allegations are yet to be established through the investigation and legal proceedings.DEATH CERTIFICATE DATED 2003, BUT FATHER DIED IN 2004

A second disputed document concerns Mahendra Nath's death. According to the FIR, a death certificate issued in Najibabad and dated April 10, 2003, was produced in connection with the land dispute.

Nath's complaint, however, states that his father died on September 7, 2004, at Escorts Hospital in New Delhi. The FIR also says that the name of Nath's mother was incorrectly recorded on the certificate.

The alleged discrepancy between the dates and the incorrect entry concerning his mother have raised questions about the authenticity of the document. Investigators are examining the death certificate alongside the purported will to determine how the documents were prepared and used in the property dispute.26 BIGHA LAND TAKEN OVER

Nath's complaint further alleges that around 26 bighas of his father's land were taken over using the disputed documents. It also alleges that attempts were made to dispose of or otherwise deal with the remaining property.

The complaint names Dharampal Singh, Jasbinder Singh Dhillon, Vijay Shankar Pandey and revenue officer David Kumar, among others, and accuses them of conspiring in connection with the alleged fraud.

The precise roles of the individuals named in the complaint are under investigation. Their inclusion in the FIR does not, by itself, establish their involvement in the alleged offences.TWO ARRESTED, PROBE INTO OTHER ACCUSED CONTINUES

The local police registered the case on September 30 under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) relating to alleged cheating, forgery and the preparation of forged documents.

On October 1, police arrested Dharampal Singh and Vijay Shankar, the two accused in the case. They are now looking for the other two accused in the case.- Ends