While the death of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan at the hands of his brother Pravin is still a recent memory, the Mahajan clan is now caught in another dispute, this time over ancestral property. On Saturday, Prakash, younger to Pramod and elder to Pravin, served a legal notice to Poonam Mahajan, his niece and daughter of Pramod. The legal notice demands a share for Prakash in the family’s ancestral land in Osmanabad, estimated to be worth around Rs4 crore.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The land in question is situated in the outskirts of Osmanabad, in Marathwada. A portion of the land, around 13,000 sq ft, is owned by Prakash’s uncle Sudhakar Mahajan. The other portion, around 26,000 sq ft, is in the name of Tapasvi Trust, headed by Poonam, a BJP member. The trust runs Venkatesh Mahajan College (named after the Mahajan brothers’ late father) and Arya Chanakya School, both of which are located on this land. Prakash, in his petition, has claimed a share in the land owned by Tapasvi Trust.

Prakash, who is also the Shiv Sena spokesperson, confirmed this development to DNA. “We have ancestral land in Osmanabad. The case is not against anybody. I just want my share of the land.

That’s it,” he said. However, he did not elaborate on the petition. Poonam was not available for comment.

Ironically, Prakash has traditionally been very close to Pramod’s family. He took charge of the family affairs after Pramod died on May 3, 2006, a few days after being shot by their brother Pravin. He was the only person who came forward and strongly defended Pramod when Pravin levelled personal allegations against their elder brother in his book Majha Album (My Album). Prakash is also believed to have a good relationship with Poonam. In fact, he had actively participated in her campaign when she contested in the assembly elections from Ghatkopar (W) constituency in October last year.