Akela
IRKED with Maharashtra government’s lackluster attitude, the villagers of Vaghera Pada, Kamba Village in Kalyan have decided to boycott the current Assembly election. The villagers are tribal and unhappy with the encroachment of their land by a Sindhi, a habitual land encroacher from Ulhasnagar.
There is a strict law against encroaching tribal land in Maharashtra but none of the officers are enforcing the law. Also encroacher is a Sindhi, then how he bought the agriculture land in Maharashtra. He produced a fake farmer certificate.
On September 26, 2014 the tribals sent a letter (copy available with ABI) to Chief Election Commissioner, Tehsildar, Collector and Chief Minister Office in Mantralay, Mumbai informing them that they are boycotting the current assembly polls.
According to the letter, an Ulhasnagar based Sindhi Prakash Khemchand Budhrani and his family have allegedly grabbed 13-acres agricultural land of tribal (Adivasi) in Vaghera Pada, Kamba village, Kalyan. Budhrani’s family also illegally constructed a godown on 50,000 sq. feet land of tribal’s plot, in an area reserved for mortuary.
The land (Survey No- 47/1-A, 47/1-B, 52 and 11) belongs to a tribal Mahadu Nago Sid (dead). Sid came to know that Budhrani and his family had removed his name from the title of land documents and had instead inserted their names fraudulently. The land is currently values Rs 60 crores. Sid being an illiterate had given power of attorney to social activist Vishal Gupta to fight the case on his behalf.
Gupta has been complaining against this encroacher Prakash Budhrani since 2007. So far Gupta has filed 115 complaints with concerned department’s officials including PMO and President of India office regarding inaction of the officials.
Gupta knocked the doors of all authorities to get possible justice but all of have fallen on deaf ears.
Gupta have even filed four petitions in Bombay High Court, two with Konkan Commissioner, five with Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), seven with Tehsildar, five with City Civil Court, Kalyan and three in Rajasthan.
In June, 2013 Gupta and others met VD Mishra, state additional director general of police (ADG). Subsequently Mishra ordered Titwala police to register an FIR. Finally after six years (on June 4, 2013) police registered FIR against Budhrani, his wife Nisha, son Vishal and daughter Sheetal, along with their accomplices Sudha Phadke, Prabhakar Agarkar and Alaknanda Natu.
At the same time Gupta and others also met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan personally who then had ordered the collector and Tehsildar to take legal action against the accused persons. But all went in vain.
“Budhrani bribed the Titwala police, Collector, Tehsildar and sub-divisional office. All of them kept mum, said Gupta.
On January 28, 2014, Gupta has filed a writ petition in Bombay High Court against Collector, Thane District, Tehsildar and Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) of Kalyan for their inaction against initiating legal proceedings.
In order to harass Gupta and divert the case, accused have filed 16 cases against him in the matter. Three in Bombay High Court, five in City Civil court, one in Konkan Commissionarate, five in Tehsildar office and three in Sub-Divisional Offices.
“All Adivasis have decided to boycott the polls. We will arrange a press conference soon in Mumbai over our boycott decision,” said Gupta.