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Long arm of the law catches cops as illegal construction demolished at police station
The office of the police station in-charge, the women’s help desk, and the in-charge’s residence had been situated on this disputed land.
Lucknow: In an unusual incident, the Uttar Pradesh Police found themselves on the receiving end of the law’s full force when an unauthorised construction at the Shahabad police station in Hardoi was bulldozed on Saturday, according to senior police and administrative officials.
The action was carried out in compliance with a directive from a Hardoi court, which determined that a portion of the police station had been illegally constructed on land designated for the Munsif court and Gram Sabha. Over a span of three days, the residential quarters of the police station in-charge, a room designated for the women’s help desk, a section of the police station in-charge’s office, and the main entrance were all demolished. Administrative and revenue officials were present during this demolition process, as stated by Priyanka Singh, the Additional District Magistrate (ADM) of Hardoi.
Providing further details, another official explained that the construction that was demolished had taken place in 2021 during the expansion of the police station premises adjacent to the Munsif court. The Munsif court is the lowest-tier court responsible for handling civil matters. The police officials, at the time, had not verified whether the construction was within the boundaries of the allotted land for the police station.
Consequently, the office of the police station in-charge, the women’s help desk, and the in-charge’s residence had been situated on this disputed land. The issue came to light when the Hardoi district judge conducted a recent visit to the Shahabad Munsif court building and discovered that a portion of the court premises had been encroached upon by the police station.
Following this discovery, the judge ordered a survey of the land, revealing that the police station had unlawfully occupied a portion of the Munsif court’s property. Subsequently, the court issued an order to vacate the illegal occupation, leading to the initiation of the demolition drive aimed at removing the unauthorised police station construction.
“While recounting the sequence of events, he humorously noted that all police personnel, including the inspector in-charge, remained passive observers during the demolition drive,” he added.
