He warned about dangers but got no security, says patwari’s family

GURUGRAM: Family members of a land records officer, who was shot dead in Manesar during a survey on Tuesday, demanded a government job for one of his sons and full salary for his widow till his retirement age.
Ishwar Singh, a patwari with HSIIDC, was 52 years old and had eight years of service left. He was part of a team of around eight officials who had gone to assess land in Sector 1 of Manesar and talk to squatters following the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Manesar land scam in March. He was sitting in the back seat of a Bolero when two bike-borne masked men fired point-blank at him.

Police claimed to have identified the shooters, who are still absconding.

On Wednesday, Ishwar’s family members, who had come to Gurugram to collect the body after the post-mortem, said he had three sons — the eldest one (27) is married and works as a mechanic at an automobile workshop, the second son is an ITI pass-out and unemployed, while the youngest son (18) is differently abled. They said Ishwar was the main earning member of the family that belongs to Shahpur village in Hisar, while demanding compensation for the next of kin.

Ishwar’s brother Mangat Ram alleged HSIIDC officials had failed to sense the pulse of local people and ensure proper precautionary measures during the survey and anti-encroachment drive that started on Monday, leading to the murder of Ishwar. “On the first day, local people had opposed the drive. Yet, officials did not arrange for adequate security on Day 2 (Tuesday),” said Ram, adding had there been sufficient police force, no one would have dared to commit such a crime.

Ishwar’s brother-in-law Chand Singh said timely help would probably have saved his life. “When he was attacked, no one came forward. They (other officials) ran away. Police arrived almost half an hour later and took him to hospital. But by then, Ishwar had died due to excessive bleeding,” he said.

Rajkumar, Ishwar’s nephew, alleged the family was informed about the murder two and a half hours later. “We were told that he had met with an accident. We came to know he had been shot after reaching the hospital,” said Rajkumar.

Another nephew Surender Kumar alleged his uncle (Ishwar) had warned his seniors about possible disturbance during the encroachment drive but it was ignored by senior officials. “They should have made adequate security arrangement,” he said.

HSIIDC managing director TL Satyaprakash said as per government norms, Ishwar’s kin were entitled to get a compensation of Rs 3 lakh.

On the family’s demand for a government job and full salary till his retirement age, Satyaprakash said the department was with the bereaved family and they would try to do their best.

Regarding security arrangement, Satyaprakash said the department had to take the possession of the land in keeping with the court’s direction. “The team had gone for a survey to take deemed (on paper) possession of the land. The department never takes police security for survey because officials only take measurement of the land and take possession only on paper,” he explained.

The police claimed to have identified the criminals who had shot the patwari. “In the last 24 hours, several people from Manesar and nearby areas have been taken into custody. And during interrogation, police have managed to identify the accused,” said Subhash Bokan, a spokesperson for Gurugram police. “Four-five teams of the crime branch are conducting raids and the police expect to arrest them soon,” he added.

In the day, ABW Manesar Allottees’ Welfare Society held a meeting and strongly condemned the attack on the HSIIDC team. The society, comprising 2,000 buyers who have invested in a 104-acre project in Manesar, termed the killing as a ghastly act.

“The government should make all necessary arrangement for the safety of the staff deployed to implement the Supreme Court orders,” said Naresh Jindal, president of the society.