Madhya Pradesh government continues action against land mafias, vacates unauthorised lands

Madhya Pradesh government on Monday continued taking action against the land mafia for the second day after it demolished many unauthorised establishments on Sunday. The action is likely to cause a tumultuous reaction in the state Assembly which is set to commence its Winter Session from Tuesday.

Taking strict actions against the land mafia the police on Monday arrested Vijay Shrivastava in an alleged case of government land encroachment and for selling it to different parties.

"An FIR has been registered against him for opening fire upon persons who had complained against him. A blank cartridge was also recovered from him," the police said.

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Deputy Inspector General of Police Irshad Wali said that a police inspector M.L. Bhati, was defending the accused Shrivastava and was refusing to accept complaints against him in the open fire incident. Shrivastava was also involved in alleged extortion of money from senior citizens in the area, officials said, adding that the encroached land is being vacated. The Lokayukta police is taking action against Shrivastava and the revenue officials who allowed him to acquire the land. Shrivastava also allegedly assisted many people to avail loans from the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) on the encroached land.

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Other actions taken by the government

Moreover, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) teams along with the police also vacated many commercial eateries that were set up on the unauthorised land in Kerwa and Neelbad areas. The action was taken following Chief Minister Kamal Nath's orders for a crackdown against land mafia active in the state in various fields. The four famous restaurants that were bulldozed over were Nature cottage Café restaurant Lounge, Countryside, 32 Degree, and Vogue.

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Protests sparked against the action

Protests were raised against the government action on Sunday that continued on Monday as well. The corporators in Bhopal protested after an alleged land mafia Mukhtar Malik's house located at Shyamla hills was seized by the BMC on Sunday. The protesters alleged that the action against Malik was a conspiracy by his political rivals.

A heavy police force was deployed to support the civic authorities for evacuating encroached lands. Senior civic officials were also deployed until evening. BMC officer Kamal Solanki said that the anti-encroachment drive is going on around the city. Areas, where illegal structures are built will be identified and action will be taken.

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