Mangaluru:Former Congress leader Harikrishna Bantwal, who recently said he had explosive news, on Saturday, alleged that district in-charge Minister B. Ramanath Rai has grabbed government land in his wife’s name.

Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Bantwal said he kept quiet all this while because he was in the Congress and is a confidant of senior leader B. Janardhana Poojary. However, he said he is now receiving threat letters after quitting Congress and hence decided to expose the illegalities.

Mr. Bantwal said Shyla R. Rai had applied for Akrama-Sakrama seeking grant of 2.04 acres of land in Survey No. 20/2 of Mani village, Bantwal taluk, in 1999. The same was granted to her in 2001 when Mr. Rai was Minister in the S.M. Krishna government. The committee also granted her another one acre of land in Survey No. 38/2 in the same village without any application being filed.

The Minister, in his affidavit for the 2013 elections, declared that his wife Dhanabhagya Rai owns 3.04 acres of land in Survey Nos. 20/2 and 38/2 in Mani Village, Bantwal taluk. Mr. Bantwal alleged that the Minister used two names for his wife just to cover the fraud.

Mr. Bantwal said officials too have misused their powers in granting land under Akrama-Sakrama in Mani village as Ms. Rai was ineligible for the grant for owning lands in excess of permissible limits.

On the other hand, 10 acres of government land in Kallige village, very close to Mr. Rai’s residence in Bantwal, has been encroached and is being cultivated since five years. A total of 30 acres of land was in the government’s name in Survey No. 97/1 of Kallige village, of which about 1.51 acres have gone to government projects. The encroached 10 acres is part of the remaining 28.49 acres.

Mr. Bantwal said he wanted to know the influential person who has the capacity to encroach vast extent of government land and cultivate the same in front of a powerful Minister.

The Deputy Commissioner has to conduct a probe and file criminal case against the encroacher for grabbing government land, he said.