In the Payagpur area of Bahraich District, the local administration carried out a demolition drive on alleged illegal encroachments of a boundary wall of a kabristan and on the houses of five villagers, reportedly following a court order.
Reports suggest that the revenue department survey found that the graveyard boundary had been constructed by encroaching upon a government pathway.
Meanwhile, the local residents claim that “no notice” was served before bulldozers crumbled the boundary.
“No notice was served to us. It was demolished all of a sudden, and we were told that the boundary wall stood on the pathway,” a local resident told FoEJ Media.
“No one is listening to us. None of our complaints are being heard,” he added.
“We collected the debris from the demolished boundary wall and kept it on our own land, but that too was removed without our permission,” another local resident alleged.
The sub-divisional magistrate, in the meantime, stated that the action against the illegal constructions was carried out in compliance with court directions. Tehsildar Ambika Chaudhary, Station House Officer Deepak Singh, Naib Tehsildar Saurabh Singh, Revenue Inspector Madhusudan Mishra, Lekhpal Aditya Mishra, and other members of the revenue team were present during the operation.
In yet another case, on Friday, an alleged illegal madrassa and several shops built on Gram Sabha in the same area were demolished amidst the heavy police deployment.
Tehsildar Ambika Chaudhary said the action was undertaken following court orders.
“Gram Sabha land is public property, and any kind of illegal construction or occupation on it is against the law. This action has been taken as per court orders,” Chaudhary said.
He said the drive was intended to reclaim public land from encroachment for projects serving the public interest.
As per the reports, the dispute was taken to court after locals allegedly raised concerns over the occupation of land. The reports further say that a villager and his son moved to court and sought legal intervention into the matter.
