HC notice to Maha minister Abdul Sattar over decision in land dispute
Mumbai (PTI): The Bombay High Court has issued a notice to Maharashtra minister Abdul Sattar for ordering 'regularisation' of the possession of land reserved for public 'gairan' (grazing) in favour of a private person in the face of a civil court order.
There shall be an interim stay to the effect and operation of the order passed on June 17, 2022 by Sattar until further orders, the HC's Nagpur bench said while issuing the notice on December 22.
The details were available on Saturday.
The bench was hearing a petition filed by social activist Shyam Deole and another person against the order Sattar had passed in June 2022 when he was the revenue minister.
As per the petition, a public utility land meant for grazing measuring 37 acres was 'regularised' in favour of a private person.
This was done even after the claim of this private person had been rejected by the civil appellate court, said the petitioner who was represented by advocate Sunil Manohar.
The HC held that prima facie (on the face of it) Sattar passed the order with knowledge that additional district judge, Washim, had disallowed the claim of the private person for continuation of his possession over the gairan land.
The Washim court had even passed stinging remarks that said private person was "certainly out to usurp the government land," the HC noted.
"Thus, we find that the issue raised in this petition, which puts a question mark over the manner in which the public utility land/gairan land is allowed to be usurped by private individuals, requires consideration by this Court."
"While issuing notice, we would direct the petitioners to deposit in this Court an amount of rupees fifty thousand to show their bona fides," the court added.
The HC will hear the matter further on January 11, 2023.
On December 14, a Nagpur bench of the HC had ordered status quo on a decision taken by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde when he was a minister in the previous Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of allotment of land meant for slum dwellers to private persons.
The HC was informed by amicus curie (appointed by court to assist) advocate Anand Parchure that Shinde during his tenure as the urban development minister of the MVA government directed the Nagpur Improvement Trust to give away land acquired for housing scheme for slum dwellers to 16 private persons.
On December 22, the HC accepted the withdrawal of the order of regularisation issued by Shinde recently and observed it was treating the matter as closed.
On December 20, Shinde said as the urban development minister in 2021, he had passed an order in which he did not recommend reducing or decreasing the rate of land in question, but noted that charges should be applied for the plot as per government rules.
The CM had said when it was brought to his notice that the land allotment matter was pending in the court, he cancelled his earlier order, dated April 20, 2021, on December 16, 2022
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Jharkhand horror: Man kills live-in partner, chops body into 40 pieces
Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.
The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.
Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.
"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.
Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.
“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.
Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.
"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.
The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.
Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.
"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.
The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.
Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.
