R S PURA: Senior Congress leader and former DDC Suchetgarh Taranjit Singh Tony on Thursday led a protest along with over 100 residents of Kotli Galavana in RS Pura against SDM R.S. Pura Anuradha Thakur, alleging that the administration is favouring land grabbers and harassing common people.
Addressing the protesters at Kotli Galavana, Tony said that around two weeks ago, the people of the village, under his leadership, had approached the Deputy Commissioner seeking action over 26 kanal 7 marla of land which was recorded as Rakba Sarkar (government land).
He said proper demarcation was conducted in the presence of revenue officials and police, and the land was retrieved from alleged encroachers. Government signboards were also installed to mark the property as state land. “Despite the land being clearly recorded as Rakba Sarkar and demarcated officially, the alleged land grabbers later removed the government-installed boards,” Tony claimed.
He said that following complaints from locals who had “lost faith in the R.S. Pura administration,” the Deputy Commissioner had assured strict action and stated that nobody involved in encroachment would be spared. Tony also cited an earlier alleged land grabbing case related to Peer Baba land as an example, claiming that similar concerns had been raised in the past.
However, Tony alleged that instead of retrieving the encroached land, the SDM R.S. Pura recently reached the spot with heavy police deployment and “threatened innocent villagers with FIRs.” He further alleged that women were pushed and harassed and that the administration cleared land on the opposite side having trees instead of reclaiming the encroached portion.
Tony also alleged that the SDM is misleading the general public regarding the actual status of the land and is deliberately creating confusion in the area. He claimed that she is acting against an individual, Yash Pal, while shielding the real encroachers, which has further angered the local residents.
“The SDM is not people-friendly and is patronising land grabbers while giving rough treatment to common masses,” Tony alleged during the protest.
He warned that if the land is not retrieved and action not taken against those involved in encroachment, the agitation would be intensified. “If anything goes wrong or the peaceful atmosphere of the area is disturbed, the responsibility will lie with the SDM R.S. Pura,” Tony said.
The protesting residents raised slogans against the SDM and demanded immediate restoration and protection of the government land at Kotli Galavana.