Rani has been allegedly duped of Rs 33 lakh in a fake land deal in a village near temple town of Shirdi in Maharashtra.

Wanting to build a house in Shirdi near Kopargaon in Ahmednagar district, Rani purchased a 11,000 square feet land in 2005 from one Sampat More. But she was unaware of the fact that it was non-transferable farmland and hence could not be sold.

The district collector of Ahmednagar, Umakant Dangat told: "Rani Mukerji's father had come here a few days ago to have the land registered in their names but the land was already allotted for farming purposes."

The district's sub divisional officer has sent an enquiry notice to Rani with respect to the land, which she had allegedly purchased from an agent named Sampat More in village Nimba Korchali, about 400 km from Mumbai.

Dangat said the size of the land is 11 guntas (one fourth of an acre). However, the cost of the land hasn't been determined yet.

"They should have enquired before getting into a transaction," said Dangat.

The sub divisional officer will scrutinise the records of the parties involved and pass an order thereafter.