The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath’s statement, “Criminals would not be spared under any circumstances,” has gained resonance in another Bharatiya Janta Party administrated state of Madhya Pradesh where residences of criminals encounter the bulldozer action which often makes the headlines.
The government of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s bulldozed the illegal house of the auto driver, accused in the Ujjain rape case.
Bulldozer demolished illegal house of the accused in Ujjain rape case of minor. pic.twitter.com/NBgDLd0XcZ
— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) October 4, 2023
According to reports, Bharat Soni, the accused in the Ujjain rape case, had constructed his home by means of unauthorised use of public property. He had also built a temple. Bulldozers were used by the administration team to clear these occupied grounds of all unlawful structures.
In the aforementioned case, the Ujjain police had arrested three persons, including the auto driver after they examined the CCTV footage of the last 72 hours and saw the auto driver talking to the girl. The accused was charged with rape in accordance with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
As reported earlier, the girl was helped by a Hindu priest identified as Rahul Sharma. The victim girl was scared and walking on the streets of Ujjain seeking help. She had injuries on her private parts and was bleeding. She walked for around 8 km in the city seeking help but to no avail. Finally, when she reached near Dandi Ashram on the Badnagar road in the city, where Rahul Sharma offered her clothes and called for emergency medical service. He informed the police, who recovered the girl and took her to the hospital.
‘Won’t allow bulldozers to descend on her house’: wife of land mafia Prem Yadav, who was killed in Deoria mass murder incident, challenges administration
At the same time, plans are in motion to run a bulldozer on the illegal properties of Premchand Yadav, the former district panchayat member who was killed in the massacre that happened as an apparent act of retribution following a longstanding land dispute between the families of Prem Yadav and Satya Prakash Dubey.
The team from the Revenue Department arrived in the Fatehpur village neighbourhood of the Rudrapur police station and assessed the home of the strong land mafia family of Premchand Yadav. The bulldozer action can be implemented at any time. Meanwhile, Sheela Yadav wife of Premchandra Yadav, who was the first to be killed in the massacre, has claimed that she is not going to allow bulldozers to descend on her house.
She made the declaration after a survey was carried out by the Revenue Department on her place. “Two people from my family have been taken away by the police. The rest of the neighbours have also been arrested by the police. There are no men left even for the duties related to the last rites.”
Notably, in the Deoria mass murder case, Premchand Yadav was the first one to be murdered. Following his murder, his supporters barged into Satya Prakash Dubey’s house and bludgeoned him and four of his family members to death. According to local media, Prem Yadav was a local strongman of the village who had ties with the Samajwadi Party. He often used his political connections to usurp government lands and properties of the impoverished villagers.
Meanwhile, speaking about the bulldozer action the administration is mulling to take against the illegal properties belonging to Prem Yadav, his wife claimed, “There is discussion of demolishing my house even though it is completely legal and its deed is in the name of my mother-in-law. The court document should be brought first before proceeding forward. I will not let my house be demolished. First of all, my husband was murdered and that should be inquired. Any action should take place afterwards.”
Sixteen persons were arrested in connection with the murders of five members of a family at Fatehpur village in a purported retaliation to the killing of a man whom they had a long-standing land dispute with.
Prem Yadav’s Samajwadi Party connection; allegations of being a land mafia
It was also reported in the local version of another newspaper that Prem Yadav had ties with the Samajwadi Party. Prem Yadav was frequently involved in land-related controversies. He utilized money and political influence to gain control of the land. He has been accused of forcing his way into purchasing several expensive lands at low prices. He had purchased three kathas of disputed land in the Rudrapur stretch, and the issue was currently being heard by the Gram Panchayat.
According to locals, Prem Yadav usurped the land of a government educational institute and Gram Sabha and built a posh building on it. He had acquired one acre of land in the village while serving as the District Panchayat member. A plot of land in the village is registered in the name of Manas Vidyalaya, however, it is owned by Prem Yadav. He also owns the land registered in the name of GS School and Barn. He used his political clout and influence to illegally acquire the forest department’s land, as well as the school and the one-acre land in the village.
It has also been alleged that Prem Yadav used to perpetrate these crimes with the help of Revenue Department officials. According to Ramashish Nishad, village head representative, despite multiple appeals to the Revenue Department, no action was taken to remove the illegal encroachment.
Locals also revealed that Prem Yadav’s mother was the village chief in Deoria’s Fatehpur village. Satya Prakash Dubey’s brother Gyan Prakash Dubey had no family, thus by providing him shelter, Prem Yadav gained his trust and usurped Gyan Prakash’s land and transferred it in his name.
It may be noted that in her complaint, Satya Prakash Dubey’s elder daughter, Shobita Dwivedi, had referenced a prior incident in 2014 when Prem Prakash Yadav allegedly kidnapped her uncle Gyan Prakash Dubey and forcibly made him transfer his agricultural land, subsequently leading to a protracted legal dispute.
