Face-off erupts between local Tehsildar, villagers over land encroachment in Bhadrak

A face-off erupted between local Tehsildar and villagers at Jaleswarpur village under Chandbali block in Bhadrak district over a dispute related to land encroachment.  

According to sources, some influential persons have encroached government plots for which villagers were finding it hard to go to the nearest temple. A villager named Ramakant Bhala took the matter to the tehsildar, district collector, Revenue Department and Revenue Divisional Commissioner but in vain. Bhala later knocked the door of High Court seeking its invention into the matter. 

Hearing the case, High Court issued a notice directing the Chandbali tehsildar to evict encroached land. 

On the very day of eviction, local tehsildar instead of evicting the encroachment evicted villagers who made complaints in this regard. When angry villagers asked the tehsildar to clarify the reasons behind evicting them, a face-off erupted between them. 

Tehsildar Sushant Sutar said, “Land eviction on plot number 557, 553 and 381 is going on. The remaining land would be evicted in the second phase.”

Bhala said, “On the day of eviction which was supposed to be carried out on May 19, tehsildar came with four sickles and visited the spot. When he was returning without carrying out eviction drive, I asked him the reason of not following court’s order. He got angry and said ‘I will not carry out the eviction. I will do whatever I want. He even threatened me like anything.”