Uttarakhand govt seizes land owned by UP strongman Raja Bhaiya's wife

The Uttarakhand government has taken possession of more than half a hectare of agricultural land registered in the name of Uttar Pradesh MLA Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya's wife in Nainital district as it was not being used for its sanctioned purpose, officials said.

In the presence of local public representatives and villagers on Friday, Patwari (revenue official) Ravi Pandey carried out the formalities of taking possession of the land under Section 167 of the Uttar Pradesh Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1950 as it was in violation of section 154 (4) (3) (b) of the ZALR (amendment) Act, Kainchi Dham SDM Vipin Chandra Pant said.

Section 154 (4) (3) (b) of the ZALR (amendment) Act requires the land to be used for its sanctioned purpose within two years after being bought, the official said.

"However, for a long time, no farming-related work of any kind was being done on this land, Pant said.

Raja Bhaiya's and his wife Bhanvi Singh are believed to be ..