E-Paper
Andhra officials rush to help after Army jawan posts SOS video, find a twist in the tale upon arrival
Army jawan Babu, in a video, asked Andhra Pradesh officials for help, claiming he and his brother were in the Army for the last 17 years and their 3.60 acres village-land had been grabbed by two persons in their absence.
An army jawan’s outreach to government officials on social media in Andhra Pradesh’s Chittoor district led to resolution of a land encroachment case within hours but not before the authorities discovered a twist in the tale.
T Chandra Babu, a hawaldar, from Ellapalli village of Gangadhara Nellore block, circulated a Whatsapp video of his appeal among his friends, relatives and the local officials complaining about alleged encroachment of family land and threats being doled out to kin.
The one-and-a-half minute video soon spread in the district and made the officials of Chittoor district go on toes and resolve his issue within hours.
In the video, Babu said he and his brother Mahendra had been serving the Army for the last 17 years and their 3.60 acres village-land had been grabbed using fake documents by two persons named Sobhan Babu and Sambasiva Naidu who were also threatening to kill his old mother Kuppamma, if she lodged a complaint.
“My brother and I are not in a position to come home as we have no leaves. So, I request the villagers and government to come to our rescue and save my mother’s life. Share this video till it reaches chief minister Jagananna (Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy),” Babu said in the video.
As the video spread, Gangadhar Nellore tehsildar D Bhavani, local sub-inspector Naga Sowjanya and revenue inspector Chandrasekhar, along with some other officials, reached the jawan’s village.
Bhavani told Hindustan Times that the officials found the Army jawan’s claim of owning 3.60 acres of land to be untrue. “There is a piece of six acres of assigned land in the village and Babu’s family was given two pattas – one for him and another for his brother in Survey Number 30., measuring lot less than 3.60 acres” she said.
She, however, said that the officials resolved a different dispute between Babu’s family and his cousin Sambasiva Naidu over a pathway between the two houses. “Kuppamma wanted a pathway between her house and that of Naidu located on the backside of her house. We resolved the issue by allotting a 15-feet road between the two rows of houses,” Bhavani explained.
When contacted, Babu said the land issue was being resolved. He, however, refused to elaborate saying he was not supposed to speak to media as per service rules. He also refused to divulge his designation as well as place of posting.
