M A I N   N E W S

Land consolidation row turns violent in Karnal
Infuriated over harvesting of crop by rival group, villagers go on rampage
Bhanu P. Lohumi/TNS

Lalupura (Karnal), Oct 15
A dispute over land consolidation in the Gharonda block of Karnal district turned violent in Lalupura village on Tuesday, with women of five villages going on a rampage over harvesting of crop by the other group, which claims to be the owner of the land.

Angry villagers of Kalram, Araipur, Bharatpur, Lalupura and Amritpur demolished three structures, including a police post. They said the force at the police post had failed to stop rival farmers from harvesting the crop despite the administration’s directions to both groups to maintain “status quo” for four days.

About 700 villagers, including 350 women, had been guarding the crop for a week. Yesterday, they left for Delhi to protest at Jantar Mantar. The rival group allegedly harvested the crop in their absence.

Villagers shouted slogans of ‘inqalab zindabad’ and ‘kisano ke saath dhokhadhadi nahin chalegi’ and demanded a CBI inquiry into the land dispute, especially the change in revenue records made during consolidation of land holdings in April 1999. They alleged the change was made in connivance with the land mafia. They said the land had been in their possession continuously since consolidation in 1965.

They demanded an investigation into the role of Patwaris Pradeep, Darshan and Nafe Singh and Kanungo Ram Kumar. The villagers alleged they were in cahoots with the land mafia as land records could not have been altered without their complicity.

“My entire crop has been taken away. What will I feed my children?” sobbed Smanigita, a mother of five. “It’s the same condition in every house in the village. We are living on one meal of half-cooked rice a day and are alive only because of help from relatives.”

“Our opponents are powerful and rich and we fear they may abduct us. We all are living together and guarding our left-over crop,” said Vimla from Kalram village.

The women threatened to immolate themselves along with their children if they were not compensated for the harvested crop and five persons, who allegedly harvested the crops flouting the administration’s orders, were not arrested.

They identified four of the five as Jile Singh, Shishipal Sharma, Ram Maher Rod and Ram Kumar Kalyan. “With no support from the administration, we have been pushed to a point of no return. We can either kill or get killed,” said 84-year-old Baladevi.

With tension mounting in the area, Karnal Deputy Commissioner Vikas Yadav imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC banning assembly of five or more persons, carrying of firearms and other arms in Amritpur Kalan, Amritpur Khurd, Kalram, Kehariwali, Lalupura, Dehra Bharatpur and Arainapur villages for two months ending December 14.

All villagers have also been asked to deposit their licenced weapons in the police station.

Meanwhile, the other group of farmers -- who claim to be the real owners of the land under dispute as per the April 1999 consolidation -- today submitted a memorandum to the Karnal Deputy Commissioner. They claimed of the 500 farmers whose land was involved, 470 farmers were in the favour of 1999 consolidation. Only 30 farmers who are in illegal possession of over 500 acres are misguiding the media and are the real land mafia, they said in the memorandum.

“After they lost the case in the high court and Supreme Court, the villagers have been resorting to pressure tactics such as taking out processions, sitting on a hunger strike and using the women to guard the crop sown by us to mount pressure on the administration,” alleged Baljit Singh, former sarpanch of Amritpur Kalan.

He accused India Against Corruption activist JP Shekhpura of “vote bank” politics in the name of theses farmers and demanded that he should be booked by the police for inciting villagers to adopt “illegal and unlawful” means.

“Around 80 per cent farmers, who are rightful owners, have been given possession of the land, but 20 per cent farmers are still waiting to get their land, which has been grabbed by these villagers. They have unleashed a malicious propaganda and are calling us land mafia,” said Baljit Singh.