NAGPUR: State home minister Anil Deshmukh’s second complaint redressal camp at the Police Gymkhana on Monday witnessed a landslide of grievances against the land mafia who have grabbed land and property of gullible owners, mostly from the middle and lower class. Victims have been running from pillar to post to seek help but in vain.
Most of the 75 officials complaints plus an additional 50 plus grievances put up before Deshmukh revolved around property grabbing, extortion and threatening by the land mafia.
A stunned Deshmukh, accompanied by CP Amitesh Kumar and other senior police officials, issued instructions to file FIR against big fries in property grabbing rackets.
The home minister called up a sub-registrar, who did not attended the camp, but sent a senior clerk, asking for an explanation in one of the land frauds following a complaint from one Salim Baig.
Deshmukh repeatedly expressed his displeasure regarding the sub-registrar and land record offices as relentlessly victims voiced their grievances as to how their plots were sold more than once and ownership changed despite disputes. “Zamin inki, plan sanction dusre ki, Kaise? Karwai kara!” (The plot belonged to him but the sanction was given to someone else. How can such a thing take place? Take action,” said Deshmukh after one Gangadhar Nakate complained of land grabbing. DCP Vivek Masaal was instructed to include the issue in the minutes of the meeting and also for a review in the next.
After hearing the emotional grievances of one of the victims (Nitin Gedam) about the modus operandi of the land mafia, zonal DCP Akshay Shinde was urged to tackle the problem in a robust manner. “Even if there is a civil suit pending in cases, tackle these land sharks with your style of tough policing,” said the home minister.
Gedam brought to the fore the manner in which his newly-purchased house was usurped in 2015 by someone who is now harassing him.
Kumar pointed out to the home minister that he has already written to MMRDA and NMC to lodge a complaint in significant cases where residential plots and apartments were sold even when there was no change from agricultural land to non-agricultural (NA). This issue was discussed after one of the complainants, Ishwar Girde, pointed out how 19 families were suffering as the ownership of the plots sold to them were not transferred.
Following a complaint from one Mamta Gumgaonkar, Deshmukh asked Zonal DCP Shinde to initiate strict departmental action against constable Vilas Narad of Sakkardara police station who had been allegedly disputing with the victim over a property. “Our men should not indulge in such condemnable activities,” said Deshmukh.