After 2 month delay, FIR lodged in Bathinda land-grab case
A case has been filed against four persons, including a doctor, for encroaching on the land belonging to PSPCL on the city’s outskirts
After a delay of over two months, the Bathinda district police finally swung into action on Saturday and lodged a criminal case against four persons, including a city doctor, in an alleged encroachment of over 12,000 yards of public land worth crores of rupees on Bathinda’s periphery.
A first information report (FIR) (HT has a copy) was registered at Civil Lines police station this evening, in which the Bathinda deputy commissioner-cum-registrar is the complaint.
A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 420 (cheating), 447 (criminal trespass), 465 (forgery), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and section 82 of the Registration Act.
Bathinda radiologist Dr Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who had bought the land in 2022, a real estate agent Ashok Kumar and brothers Gurwinder Singh and Harjinder Singh have been booked in the matter.
On January 29, HT had first reported the district administration’s report, based on scrutiny of revenue records, which showed that the prime land on the Bathinda-Malout road is owned by the Punjab state power corporation limited (PSPCL).
Shekhawat has been claiming innocence and said he bought the land legally and was being victimised by the district officials.
An office order sent by the then DC Showkat Ahmad Parray to the then Bathinda senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harmanbir Singh Gill on January 25 carried the names of the accused.
It also mentioned the name of a tehsildar for his alleged role in the unauthorised execution of the sale and purchase of the encroached land.
Also, the name of a kanungo is mentioned in the report with evidence that the officer submitted a false report that the PSPCL did not own the land.
The district police initially did not register an FIR, which prompted the current DC Jaspreet Singh to shoot off a letter to the chief secretary and financial commissioner (revenue) flagging a delay in police action.
HT had reported that the present DC wrote on March 12 urging the top brass to intervene and direct the police to start an investigation on the recommendation of the report.
The area in question is located near the defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant on the Bathinda-Malout road, the prime location which is being developed by private and public sectors. A new bus stand is also scheduled to be built in the same locality.