HP Land mafia flourishing under Cong woman seeks justice from PM BJP MLA alleges

Shimla, Nov 12 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh BJP MLA Randhir Sharma on Thursday said a woman has been compelled to approach Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking protection of her life and property from the land mafia.

    Taking a dig at the Congress government led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Sharma, who’s also the media in-charge of the state BJP, said that Aseel Ali Kuthiala, a trustee of Ananda Shakti Charitable Trust in Palampur, has expressed serious concern about her personal safety and sought intervention by the country's highest executive office.

    The Naina Devi MLA said in a statement that in a letter to the prime minister, Kuthiala has alleged illegal encroachment on her family's trust property, physical assault, destruction of forest resources and alleged inaction by the local police, raising serious questions about the law-and-order situation in Himachal Pradesh.

    The woman has been looking after her family's trust property in Palampur for the past three years, the statement said.

    “When an ordinary citizen loses confidence in police and the administration and is forced to seek justice from the prime minister, it raises a serious question on the functioning and accountability of the state government,” Sharma said.

    In her complaint, Kuthiala has levelled serious allegations against a man named Uday Singh Bhullar, accusing him of attempting to forcibly occupy trust land, using excavators to construct a road, and physically assaulting her, Sharma said.

    The complainant claimed that Bhullar is the relative of a Congress MLA, stressing that a political relationship does not, by itself, establish criminal wrongdoing.

    However, when serious allegations involve a person reportedly related to a legislator of the ruling party, the government's responsibility to ensure an impartial investigation becomes even greater, Sharma said.

    “The chief minister must clarify whether an independent investigation will be conducted into allegations of political influence. Will the role of police and revenue officials be examined? Will the government guarantee that no politically influential individual interferes with the investigation?” Sharma questioned.

    He also demanded that the Congress government provide clear answers instead of allowing doubts over administrative impartiality to persist.

    According to the complainant, on May 25, an attempt was made to construct a road using an excavator on land measuring 1,287 kanals at Mahal Mareri under the Daroganu gram panchayat in Palampur, Sharma said.

    The woman also alleged that forest land was set on fire and more than 100 trees were illegally felled in the process.

    Sharma said an even more concerning aspect of the complaint was the allegation that the forest department's report recorded the felling of only three trees, despite the complainant claiming that more than 100 trees had been destroyed.

    “If the complainant possesses photographs, videos and other evidence indicating extensive environmental damage, why should these not be independently examined? Why is there such a significant discrepancy between the allegations and the findings reportedly recorded by the forest department?" he asked, demanding an independent inspection by senior forest officials and a comprehensive assessment of the actual environmental damage.

    He said any discrepancies in official records must be thoroughly investigated and accountability fixed wherever negligence or misconduct is established.

    Sharma also said the woman alleged that police initially refused to register an FIR, allegedly altered the factual account of the incident, and, during another episode, pressured her to vacate her accommodation instead of providing protection.

    He also referred to the complainant's claim that she had obtained a stay order from a court in Palampur against certain individuals connected with the land dispute.

    “The government must ensure strict compliance with judicial orders and prevent any individual from taking the law into their hands,” he said.

    The safety of the complainant and protection of legally established property rights must be ensured in accordance with the law, the BJP leader said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)