Mafia grabs land, owners allege police inaction

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Twenty-two land owners have been facing trouble for almost three months due to police ‘inaction’ against land mafia which allegedly grabbed 1.37 acres of land in May.

Police registered an FIR two months later, in July, only after the intervention of the police commissioner. No arrests have been made in the case so far and landowners have failed in all their attempts to fence their land again.

“On July 26, we saw that despite a court injunction, the land-grabbers had entered the land and started construction in the presence of a policeman (Sub Inspector of Police Shunmuga Raja).

Earlier, on July 24, we had requested Assistant Commissioner of Police Narayanaswamy for police protection to rebuild our fences. He promised to help, but later refused. We had also met Mr Krishna Bhatt, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Ulsoor, but in vain,” said Mr Shakeel Ahmed, a land owner.

“Whenever we send our labourers to put up a fence on our properties, the goondas chase them away. This despite the fact that we, the rightful owners of the land, have been able to get an injunction which clearly states that the land-grabbers should not enter the property or a case of trespassing will be booked against them”, Mr Ahmed claimed. The trouble for the land owners started on May 7.

“On May 7, the sons of the original owner of the land, who sold the land to us, brought machines and workers and demolished the fences and walls and took possession of the land by criminal force. They had no court orders to take up demolition.

"A few plot holders, who live in the city, rushed to the spot and saw the illegal action going on. I took a video and some photos of the destruction. We informed the police about it, but no action was taken. We filed a complaint, but the police did not register an FIR,” Mr Ahmed added.

The land at Kalkere village in Ramamurthy Nagar is now valued at about Rs 10 to Rs 20 crore.
A plot of 1.37 acre was purchased by 22 people in 1995. The sale documents are registered and the plot holders have been paying taxes to the BBMP.

Each person had purchased plots measuring about 2,000 sqft to 4,000 sq.ft. During the last 17 years, at least three plot holders have built their houses and all had built brick walls or strong fences around their plots. The area is called Banjara Layout and is recognized as a layout, said Mr Deepak Shah, another land owner.

After the land owners approached Police Commissioner B.G. Jyothiprakash Mirji, an FIR was filed only on July 24. “The land-grabbers have fabricated some documents in 2010 and 2012 showing that their father had gifted them the land though we had purchased the land in 1995 and have all the legal documents in this regard.

“The crime clearly reveals police complicity with criminals. Despite the fact that we have all the evidence of destruction and all documents pertaining to ownership of the land, police have made no arrests in three months since the crime was committed. There is no investigation going on either,” said Mr Ahmed.

DCP-East Krishna Bhatt said: “The issue is civil in nature. Police protection was provided to those who approached us. Since the matter is in court, police have certain limitations and have acted legitimately. Even the opposite party had obtained a stay in the matter.”