BHOPAL: Already faced with allegations about 'one-sided' action against the minority community during the 'illegal properties' bulldozing drive in the communal violence-hit Khargone town, the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is now confronted with fresh controversy after a hut housing a national level hockey player girl and her family was demolished during the encroachment removal drive in Mandsaur district on Monday.
Failing to stop the anti-encroachment team from demolishing her hut and neighbouring huts, the 18-year-old fullback of the state's junior hockey team Sagu Dawar allegedly tried to pour kerosene on self to burn herself, but alert female cops foiled it. The teenage hockey player, however, denied having tried to immolate herself and instead alleged that other women whose huts were demolished on Monday had poured kerosene on her.
"The local administration suddenly arrived and started demolishing our huts, where we've been living since decades. We requested them to give us two-three days relaxation so that we can vacate the land on our own, but they went ahead with the demolition, before leaving with our belongings. My shirt got torn during the scuffle. Only because we're poor doesn't mean that injustice will be meted out to us. I won't leave this place till a new dwelling is built for my family at an alternate place," Sagu said.
The local SDM Bihari Singh, however, denied the allegations that the 'encroachments' were removed in haste. "The process has been on since last six months, as the land where these houses were built, actually is owned by the education department-local stadium. The encroachment free land is to be utilized for building sports hostel for promising players. All those living in the huts have already been allotted alternate land for dwellings in Alavada Khedi village in Mandsaur district only. We've all the records with us, which establish that these encroachments have been removed only after giving substantial hearing in tehsil to all those who lived there. What happened on Monday during encroachments removal was pressure tactics to delay the process of making the public land encroachment free," Singh maintained.
According to district administration sources, the family of the promising hockey player had been also building a house on land purchased by it a few years back near the land now allotted by local administration to them.
The state junior state hockey fullback, who has reportedly represented the state in at least six national tourneys at sub junior and junior level, alleged that the local administration was not stating the correct facts.
"As far as I know no written document has been given to us that proves that alternate land has been allotted by the administration for housing us. Even if the administration's claims are to be believed, then also the place where the land is being given to us is far away from the stadium, making it difficult for me to pursue my hockey career," she alleged.
Sagu has been living in the hut (that was removed on Monday) with her widowed mother and two younger brothers near the busy BPL Crossing, which is close to the stadium. Along with mother, she has been cleaning houses to earn a living, after the death of her father and elder brothers some years back.
She started playing hockey in 2015 and has since then not looked back, being a resolute defender in the sub junior and junior MP girls team at national tourneys over last six years. Her inspirational story of dreaming to make it big in hockey to help her family come out of penury was recently aired on a German TV channel.