ACB to probe allegations against Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil.The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has received a complaint against senior BJP leader Ranjit Patil, the minister of state for home, alleging he forged a dead farmer’s signature to sell off a plot of land in Akola.Patil, 52, who had a flourishing career as an orthopedic surgeon in Akola before he joined politics, purchased the land in 2000 from the farmer, Haribhau Mohite, for Rs 5 lakh, but didn’t get the land transferred in his name.Thirteen years later, in order to sell the land parcel, he got it transferred in the name of his son Sharva. The documents related to the deal show that the land was transferred in the name of Patil’s son in March 2013, and the papers were signed by Patil and the original seller, Mohite. As per the government records, Mohite died 12 years ago, in October 2001, said the complaint, filed by a Mumbai-based advocate, Prashant Nimbalkar.Nimbalkar’s complaint has said that Patil had purchased the land on behalf of his son, who was oneyear-old when the deal was finalised in March 2000. “Patil waited 13 years to get the property transferred in his son’s name, then sold it within six months for Rs 36 lakh. The documents, accessed through the Right to Information Act, show that Patil had signed the land transfer form along with the original seller, Haribhau Mohite, in the presence of a land and revenue officer in 2013. The question is, how is it possible when Mohite had passed away in October 2001?” Nimbalkar said in his complaint.Senior ACB officers confirmed the complaint has been received, even as Patil termed the allegations as “politically motivated”. “There is no question of forgery. The documents don’t have the signature of the original seller, Haribhau Mohite… only his name has been mentioned. The documentation was handled by my staff. Some people cannot tolerate my political success and they are trying to frame me,” he told Mirror.Patil is no stranger to controversies. Last year, a member of his staff, Milind Kadam, was arrested redhanded while accepting Rs 5 lakh from a Wardha lawyer, who wanted to be appointed as a notary. Patil later clarified that he had no idea what Kadam was up to.