E-Paper
4 booked in land encroachment case involving NHAI contractor in Fazilka
A case was registered at Khui Khera police station in Fazilka district under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 318(4), 329(3), 324(5), 351(3) and 61(2), which relate to cheating, criminal trespass, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Four persons linked to a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) contractor have been booked for allegedly encroaching on private land beyond the acquired limits in Begganwali village of Fazilka district, where four-laning work on the Fazilka-Abohar stretch of NH-07, including Greenfield bypasses at Abohar and Fazilka, is underway.
“The case stems from a demarcation exercise conducted by revenue authorities, which reportedly found that only 71 marlas of land had been legally acquired for the project, while an additional 41 marlas were allegedly occupied beyond the sanctioned extent. The disputed land falls along the project alignment where construction activities, including a proposed toll plaza, are underway,” said an official privy to the development, requesting anonymity.
Following administrative review and legal opinion, a case was registered at Khui Khera police station in Fazilka district under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 318(4), 329(3), 324(5), 351(3) and 61(2), which relate to cheating, criminal trespass, forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Those named in the FIR include Gurbachan Singh, Parminder Singh, Joginder Singh and Ashok Kumar Bansal on the basis of the complaint of Arpit Gupta, a resident of Fazilka.
According to the complainant, Gupta, the alleged offences occurred between January 17 and March 24, near Begganwali village, located around 6 km from Khui Khera police station.
In his complaint, Gupta alleged repeated attempts to encroach upon his family’s land despite earlier representations to concerned authorities. He further stated that members of the contractor’s team entered the land without permission and deployed heavy machinery to carry out digging and construction activities linked to a toll plaza site.
The complaint also mentions that prior grievances regarding the alleged encroachment had been submitted along with supporting documents, but no action was taken at the time, allowing the situation to escalate. “The demarcation report confirmed that land beyond the notified acquisition limits had been occupied without compensation or legal approval. Based on these findings, police initiated criminal proceedings,” the official added.
Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubaya criticised the encroachment sans permission and said, “No sort of compensation was offered to the land owner.”
The MP also raised the issue of the construction of a toll plaza, which is situated just 4.5km from the city limits.
“The toll plaza location on this stretch, which has reportedly just 4.7 km from the city limits, instead of the prescribed 5 km distance from municipal or city boundaries according to norms of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and NHAI policy, can potentially impact local development and movement near the city,” the MP added.
