SRINAGAR: On Tuesday, when a land acquisition team was on way to a village, a law and order issue was reported. Reports had indicated that an elderly person had died as well.
A day later, the district administration has issued a detailed clarification about the happenings in Padderpora village that falls in Herman tehsil regarding the death of Abdul Salam son of Mohammad Rajab, age 75 years.
The statement said that death has occurred because of the cardiac arrest and is not connected to the events of Padderpora land issue.
According to the statement, a prime Kahcharai land patch of 3 Kanals in Khasra No 223 min in Padderpora has been illegally encroached by Mohammad Ibrahim son of Abdul Gani Thoker and Abdul Rashid son of Mohammad RamzanThoker and others in early 2019.
The rest of the villagers had been repeatedly insisting on the conversion of the said patch into a playground and last year, the encroachers violently clashed with the rest of the villagers during a confrontation and the encroachers engaged in stone-pelting.
Following this ACR Shopian issued orders under Section 145 of CrPC over the said land.
After almost a year, the Section 145 order was revoked in September 2020 and the land was handed over to BDO Herman for converting it into a playground and on November 3, 2020, an official team led by Tehsildar Herman, DySP Shopian, SHO Shopian, NT Herman, BDO Herman and others proceeded on the spot to undertake the ground levelling work.
The team faced resistance from the women among the encroachers who violently obstructed the process and no levelling could be undertaken by the team.
In the meantime, Abdul Salam son of Mohammad Rajab, aged 70 yrs, a relative of the encroachers and who was a long term heart patient suffering from Hypertension and was present in PHC Mohandpora in Kulgam district that day, passed away in the afternoon in the PHC and his dead body was later brought to DH Shopian in an ambulance for post-mortem.
Meanwhile, back in Padderpora, the encroachers escalated their violent resistance and started stone pelting on the team of officers following which they left the scene of the incidence to avoid any further violence. No levelling or encroachment destruction work could be undertaken by the team.
An FIR No.307/202 of 3-11-2020 u/s 452, 354, 506 & 427 of IPC was lodged in PS Shopian in connection with the stone-pelting and violence undertaken by the encroachers.
