Kottayam: Actor Dileep’s theatre at Chalakkudy stands on a controversial land, the Thrissur District Collector has said.

A high-level team of the revenue department should conduct a thorough probe in this regard, Collector Dr A Kaushikan said in the report.

It is intriguing to note how Dileep got claim over the land for which tax has also been paid, the report says, adding that `shockingly, many important papers of the land since 1956 are missing’.

The land was given by Thiru Kochi Government to Sree Dharma Mangalam Sree Krishna Temple in 1956 before the formation of the State.

It came into Dileep’s hands in 2005 through eight deeds.

An Aluva native Santosh moved against this, following which the then Collector M S Jaya was asked to submit a report. She gave clean chit to Dileep which was again disputed by Santosh in the High Court.

The court called a hearing of the Land Revenue Commission which found Jaya’s report baseless and cancelled it.
The commission recommended a high-level probe by revenue department during the previous United Democratic Front regime.

The Revenue Minister said an urgent probe will be conducted into this as also allegations of Dileep occupying a revenue land in global tourism destination of Kumarakam.

Environmentalists and local people have been up in arms against this for some time now.