Gurugram: Two held for threatening, attacking town planner

GURUGRAM: A month after the DTCP chief warned of strict action against those disrupting demolition drives, two developers of an illegal colony have been arrested for threatening and attacking district town planner RS Batth.
Police have provided Batth with a personal security officer (PSO), who will accompany him during such drives. The town planner has come under attack on two occasions in the past one month.
Following a complaint by Batth, Sadar police on Wednesday booked Raj Yadav and Naveen Yadav, both from Badshapur, under IPC sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of his duties), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 353 (assaulting or using criminal force), said police spokesperson Subhash Boken. Both the men were later arrested.
On Tuesday, Batth carried out a drive in Sector 72A in Khandsa to raze an illegal colony that was being developed on a five-acre land falling under open space category as per the Master Plan. As the demolition started, Raj and Naveen, who arrived in a luxury car, hurled abuses, threatened and manhandled the senior official and disrupted the demolition drive. The entire incident was caught on camera.
In his complaint, Batth said Raj and Naveen were carving out an illegal colony in an unauthorised manner. “They threatened me and said they have made investments by taking loans from banks for the land and that it should not be demolished,” he said, adding that the duo had been warned in July to stop the construction and restore the place.
This was the second attack on Batth. On July 23, a property owner in Dharampur village had tried to run him over with his tractor, again during a demolition drive. In that case, no complaint had been filed.
Welcoming the arrests, Batth said it was a big boost for the entire team and that senior officials from the department and Gurugram police had extended their full support.
On July 20, DTCP chief KM Pandurang had directed that police complaints should be filed against those who ask officials to stop demolition or disrupt such drives. The move came after enforcement teams faced difficulties in razing illegal structures, allegedly due to pressure from politicians and some influential people.