June 07, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 21, 1428

MUMBAI: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan is in trouble over alleged illegal farmland ownership, officials said on Wednesday, as the Indian film industry's top star battles similar legal woes.

The revenue minister in the western state of Maharashtra said Khan faced an investigation after buying agricultural land in the scenic Maval region of Pune district. “Every Indian citizen has the right to purchase agricultural land provided he has documents to claim that he is a farmer by profession,” Narayan Rane said. Maharashtra restricts the purchase of agricultural land to legitimate farmers — a class that screen star Khan insists he belongs to.

“I am an actor by profession but I come from an agricultural family,” he was quoted as saying by the Times of India newspaper. “My father, along with his brothers and sisters, own agricultural property in the form of mango orchards in Shahbad area of Uttar Pradesh. My family have been agriculturists as per the law and guidelines,” he said.

Khan joins Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan in facing trouble over farming. Bachchan was dealt a setback on Friday when a court ruled he did not qualify as a farmer -- a status that entitled him to buy a 20-acre farm in Maharashtra.--AFP