Villagers manhandle private firm staff in U.P.’s Ayodhya, five held

Five people were jailed for attacking staff of House of Abhinandan Lodha in Ayodhya while they attempted to take possession of purchased land.

The Ayodhya police have sent five people to prison on charges of thrashing the staff of the House of Abhinandan Lodha (HoABL) when they went to take possession of land purchased by the company in Tihura Manjha village under Ayodhya Kotwali police station.

The incident took place on September 12 and an FIR was lodged the same day by an employee of the HoABL. (For Representation)

The HoABL has purchased a large chunk of land in Ayodhya as part of its project to develop a new township in the temple town. The incident took place on September 12 and an FIR was lodged the same day by Manoj Kumar Singh, an employee of the company.

However, the incident came to light on Sunday when a video of the incident went viral on social media. According to Ashish Tiwari, circle officer, Ayodhya, five people have been arrested and sent to jail under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to the FIR, staff of the company went to take physical possession of the land on September 12. The company had purchased the land from a farmer Ashish Yadav. However, Ramswaroop Manjhi, a local of Tihura Manjha village, had illegal possession over the land even before the company purchased it.

When Manoj Kumar Singh, Tribuvahan Tiwari, Ashish Tiwari and Jignesh Gosalia went to take possession of the land by erecting temporary pillars, Ramswaroop Manjhi and others allegedly attacked them with bamboo sticks. After the incident, Singh lodged an FIR with Ayodhya Kotwali.