Bengaluru rowdy gang destroys sheds, evicts inmates 

In a land dispute, more than 50 goons beat up residents of three sheds on vacant land being claimed by the rowdy
The demolished sheds where three families had been living I Nagaraja Gadekal
The demolished sheds where three families had been living I Nagaraja Gadekal

BENGALURU: In a disturbing land dispute tussle, three families living in small security sheds constructed by their landowners, and who claimed to have all the necessary registration papers and documents of the land, were allegedly beaten up and evicted by more than 50 goons, led by Raghu, allegedly a local rowdy, in the early hours of Wednesday. 

Raghu is said to have laid claim to 1 acre, 3 guntas of land, as the sole owner of the property situated near Shirdi Sai Baba Temple of Vaddarapalya, in Hennur.

The residents also alleged that Raghu was also claiming to be the owner of vacant sites near the disputed land.

It all started in the early hours of Wednesday, around 1.30am, when Raghu’s gang stormed the three security sheds and beat up the family members sleeping inside, before throwing out all their belongings and threatening them to stay away from the five sites. 

The residents alleged that three JCBs were brought to the site to demolish the small rooms of the security guards.

When the guards protested and informed their landowners in the middle of the night, the goons manhandled their family members, and ordered the JCB drivers to demolish all the five rooms.

A scared Khairunissa said, “We were fast asleep and someone started banging on our door. When we opened the door, the goons barged in, pushed us, hit us and threw out all our belongings. They brandished knives and asked us to come out. Some among the men snatched our chains too.”

On learning from the victims that JCBs were demolishing the rooms, the landowners informed Hennur police station, and police rushed to the spot and could nab two JCB drivers who had already demolished five sheds, while one driver managed to give cops the slip. 

“We alerted police officers at Hennur Police Station and as police came, the goons started to flee. But police were quick and nabbed two drivers,” said Satish Pillai, a resident of Hennur.

The landowners, who claimed that they had the necessary documents for the land, alleged that this gang had been harassing the security guards, and claiming that they were the rightful owners of the land.

“We bought the pieces of land more than 10 years ago, with proper registration and documentation. We did not construct houses due to water scarcity in this area and now that our sites are vacant, local goons are trying to usurp our property, claiming that it belongs to their head Raghu,” said one of the landowners, Yasmeen Abdul Hameed.

Shanmughan, another landowner, said, “It is simply a case of local rowdies trying to grab land by making false and forged documentation, and threatening us to stay away from the sites.”

The other three landowners hoped the police take quick action against the goons.  A senior police officer at Hennur Police Station disclosed that an FIR had been registered.

“We checked the location and the landowners filed an FIR. The accused Raghu and others who came with him are booked under the relevant IPC sections.” 

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