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Uttarakhand BJP leader arrested for capturing house after owners died to Covid
BJP leader Reena Goyal is accused of forming a trust in the name of the deceased couple and attempting to capture their the property along with her sons and an associate on June 12.
Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Mahila Morcha (women’s wing) general secretary in Uttarakhand was arrested on Sunday along with her two sons and an aide for attempting to capture a prime property owned by an elderly couple, who succumbed to Covid-19 in Clement Town area of Dehradun, leaving no heir behind. The BJP later expelled the leader for an indefinite period.
Reena Goyal, her two sons- Lavya and Rishabh Goyal, and aide Anuj Saini were arrested after they were found to have broken into the property, sealed by the police. The police were alerted by an email from the US-based brother of the deceased woman on Sunday. In his complaint, he alleged that the BJP leader had captured his sister’s property in Dehradun.
Dehradun’s senior superintendent of police (SSP) Yogendra Singh Rawat said the deceased couple identified as DK Mittal and his wife Sushila Mittal, both aged above 80, lived in a house worth crores in Clement Town area of the city. After Sushila Mittal passed away on May 2 due to coronavirus, her husband too got infected and succumbed on June 6. Police said their only son had died about two years ago, leaving them with no heir.
“As both had no one to look after the property, Sushila’s brother and complainant Suresh Mahajan who is settled in the United States (US), informed the local Clement Town police, who sealed the property to prevent any illegal occupation,” said Rawat.
The matter didn’t end there, on June 13; Mahajan lodged a complaint in an e-mail to Clement Town police alleging Reena Goyal had formed a trust in the name of the Mittals and captured the property along with her sons and an associate a day earlier. Based on this, police went to the spot and stopped the four, but they tried to indulge in violence... following which all the four were arrested,” said Rawat.
State Congress said BJP leaders were indulging in “inhumane” activities when people were suffering during the pandemic.
“...In these dire times, when people are helping each other to cope with the loss, BJP leaders like Goyal are capturing properties of people who died of Covid-19, which is just despicable. She has no right to live in a civilised society,” said Congress state spokesperson Garima Dasauni.
BJP state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said BJP has zero tolerance for such behaviour. “Hence, Goyal has been expelled from the party and removed from all the positions she was holding, for an indefinite period,” Chauhan said.
