Villagers clash over auction of land reserved for SC residents

Tribune News Service

Patiala, June 28

Several persons were injured in a clash that took place among residents of Mandaur village on the Nabha road here today.

The clash took place while the village panchayat was holding an auction of government land of the reserved quota, supposed to be given to Scheduled Caste (SC) families of the village. Members of the SC category residing in the village said the auction was held at the village dharamshala and they were forcefully kept out of the premises.

“Government officials, along with the police, locked the gates from inside and carried out a wrongful auction with the help of people not residing in the village, ultimately benefitting residents belonging to the upper castes,” they alleged, adding that many of them, including women, were injured during the clash.

The Zameen Prapti Sangharsh Committee has already raised concerns over alleged fake auctions at various places in Patiala in the past. Importantly, the auction of land of the village had been postponed a number of times.

District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) Amandeep Kaur said the auction was carried out in the presence of a duty magistrate. The BDPO and the panchayat secretary were also present there, along with police protection.

Amandeep Kaur said, “The SC category residents had been demanding that the auction be held at the SC dharamshala. Therefore, the auction was held at the SC dharamshala as per law.” She rejected the allegations of high-handedness with the SC category residents.

Nabha Sadar SHO Gurpreet Singh Bhinder said residents associated with the SC category got into an altercation with the panchayat secretary. They also got had arguments with police officials. “We intervened and prevented the situation from getting worse,” he said.

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