'Allow cops to act independently against land-grabbing gangs in Puducherry' 

PUDUCHERRY: The Union Territory government must act on a war footing to address problems of land grabbing and threats faced by the French citizens here, said former MLA and Puducherry AIADMK State Secretary (West) Om Shakti Segar on Monday. The UT must give a free hand to police to act on this matter without any political interference, he added.

In a statement, Segar said that there had been protests by French citizens dismayed over the illegal encroachments of their properties. This is a huge challenge for Chief Minister N Rangasamy heading the National Democratic Alliance government here.  

Thousands of French citizens have settled in Puducherry and have their ancestral property here. The former MLA flagged issues of gangs of land grabbers systematically expropriating and looting the French citizens' properties over the last few years. "If the land owner brings the matter to the police, they face threats from goons. The Puducherry government should act very quickly and put an end to this problem."

He alleged the police action is made ineffective owing to involvement of politicians in nexus with land grabbers who engage in crime like murder, and robbery. "Even after registering an FIR, the police department is unable to take action against perpetrators due to the interference of a few politicians," charged Segar. The AIADMK State secretary added that police must be allowed to act independently, and arrest the accused.