Jalandhar: Latifpura demolition throws up shady land deals; FIR against 4

Deepkamal Kaur

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Jalandhar, January 19

Acting tough against four alleged victims of the December 9 Latifpura demolition drive, the Jalandhar administration has got an FIR registered against them for allegedly procuring fake registries of land in the locality.

Probe findings

• Investigation points out land sharks encroached upon major portion of Latifpura
• Of 241 marla freed by Jalandhar trust, 132 marla owned by 2 persons and their kin
• Dinesh Dhir owned 92 marla, MS Bajwa 40 marla, confirms JIT chairman

Those booked are Dinesh Dhir, a former councillor from Sultanpur Lodhi, Ramesh Dhir, Rakesh Kumar and Lakhwinder Kumar. A case under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC and 82 of the Registration Act has been lodged at the New Baradari police station.

Sources said the four held 10 fake registries executed between 2006 and 2013 without any khasra number. It has also come to light that of 241 marla land freed of encroachment by the Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT) on December 9 last year, at least 132 marla was occupied by just two persons and their families — Dinesh Dhir (92 marla) and Mohinder Singh Bajwa (40 marla). JIT Chairman Jagtar S Sanghera has confirmed the same. Bajwa said, “How can the government stop me from staking claim to compensation?”

On December 9, the JIT demolished the houses of 27 families. Investigations pointed out that some land sharks had encroached a major portion of the land.

Sanghera said when the JIT acquired the Latifpura area, 60 per cent of it was a sewage pond and there was no question of families claiming to have settled here in 1947.

Meanwhile, a seven-member committee has been set up on the orders of Vivek Partap Singh, Principal Secretary, Local Bodies, to identify the genuine families who would be given flats.