Haldwani, April 18 -- Five brothers were booked on Friday in Haldwani district for allegedly selling government land, including part of an irrigation canal, to the son of a BJP MLA in 2012, police said, adding that the fraud surfaced in a probe by a sub-divisional magistrate. The plot in question spans around 6,000 square feet and is located in Nandpur village in the Kathghariya area, said a police officer familiar with the matter, adding that the accused, identified as Naveen Chandra, Khimanand, Mohan Chandra, late Kailash Chandra and Umesh Chandra, all residents of Nandpur village, allegedly damaged and encroached upon an irrigation channel marked in district surveys as "Kalawa-4" and merged it with their own holdings before selling it as agricultural property to Vijay Bhagat, son of Kaladhungi MLA Bansi Dhar Bhagat. According to Mukhani police station SHO Sushil Joshi, a complaint flagged the matter to a sub divisional magistrate Manish Kumar, who conducted an enquiry that unearthed the encroachment, Police added that the Uttarakhand Irrigation Department and the district administration have since taken possession of the disputed land after confirming that it belonged to the government. Officers said that after the findings of the administrative inquiry, the accused allegedly offered to provide alternative land to Bhagat in exchange for the disputed plot. However, even after six years, they failed to provide any substitute land. Based on the complaint, police have registered an FIR against all five accused for allegedly cheating and selling government land under false pretenses, said officers aware of the matter....