NOIDA: Uttar Pradesh government officials on Monday morning used a bulldozer to remove encroachment done by absconding politician Shrikant Tyagi outside his Noida residence.
The action was carried out around 9 am by the Noida Authority to remove the illegal structures outside Tyagi's ground floor apartment in Grand Omaxe society in the city's Sector 93B, an official told PTI.
Tyagi had encroached a portion of the common area of the society in front of his flat by constructing temporary structures using pillars and tiles.
He had also planted trees in a park in front of his residence.
Tyagi, who claims to be a BJP politician, has been booked by the police for assaulting and abusing a woman co-resident of Grand Omaxe who had objected to him planting trees in the common area of the society.
Tyagi had claimed that he was well within his rights to do so.
Police personnel in large numbers were deployed at the society since last evening, even as senior officers interacted with Grand Omaxe residents.
A group of his supporters entered the society on Sunday and started shouting slogans.
"Seven people who entered the Grand Omaxe Society have been arrested and are being interrogated. It was found that there was negligence from SHO Phase 2, Central Noida Sujeet Upadhyay, who has been suspended, further investigation is underway," said Alok Singh, Noida Police Commissioner
We have provided security to this family and the license of the security in the society will also be cancelled soon, the Noida Police Commissioner added.
The Noida Police has invoked the Gangster Act against Tyagi, Singh said.
The residents of the society lauded the government's "bulldozer" move but also sought the early arrest of Tyagi even as some of them were distributing sweets to each other on the occasion.
"We had been raising the issue of encroachment for the last three years and finally it has happened. We thank the Uttar Pradesh government and the Noida Authority for it," an elderly resident of the society told reporters.
Over 1,000 families reside in the society.
BJP MP from Gautam Buddha Nagar, Mahesh Sharma who met residents of the society on Saturday said that the party cannot condone the actions of Tyagi.
"We've informed Awanish Awasthi (Uttar Pradesh Home Secretary), that the manner in which unidentified people entered society is not at all right. Police protection should be given to the lady within two hours," the MP said.
Noida Police said that IPC sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation), 447 (punishment for criminal trespass) have been added to the FIR registered on Friday.
Additional DCP Ranvijay Singh said, "A separate FIR under IPC sections 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 482 (punishment for using a false property mark) has been registered against the accused in light of the Fortuner car recovered from the society premises on Saturday."
"A Toyota Fortuner, had the official symbol of the UP government on it but in violation of rules and for misuse of government symbol, a separate FIR has been lodged," the additional DCP further said.
Noida District Magistrate Suhas LY had on Friday said that the Noida administration will attach Tyagi's property.
(With PTI and ANI inputs)