78-yr-old NRI attacked over piece of land

Ludhiana, September 21
Recently, when Anna Hazare went on hunger strike for about 15 days at Delhi, Surat Singh Khalsa, a 78-year-old man from Hasanpur village here had “pledged” that he too would observe hunger strike and end the fast with Anna Haraze.
Fighting against the prevailing system, little had Khalsa realised that he too would face tough times ahead at the hands of the “land mafia”, being protected by a local Akali leader. Khalsa has also alleged that the police, instead of listening to his woes, was siding with the other party.
Talking to The Tribune, Khalsa said he was an NRI who lived alone at the village near here. His children were settled in the USA. “Already FIRs had been registered against these persons and they were looking for an opportunity to grab another chunk of land belonging to me as they know that I am old, weak and all alone and cannot fight in such condition. But I will fight against them till the end of my life,” said Khalsa.
According to him, these persons, including a woman, hailed from the same village. In May 2003, an FIR was lodged against these accused as they had stolen fodder from Khalsa’s land.
“Thefts took place while I was away in California. Then in 2005, the accused stole my tractor and a tiller. But the FIR could not be lodged as a young Akali leader was protecting the family. These accused have already grabbed a chunk of land belonging to me and now they want to grab another piece. Day before yesterday when I started constructing the boundary wall on my plot for safety purpose, the accused hurled swearwords and pelted stones at me along with their workers. I was injured in the attack. Though an MLR was also conducted at the Civil Hospital, the police has not registered any case,” rued Khalsa.
He also alleged that the police was protecting the accused as an influential Akali leader has been shielding them. “It has been two days and no case has been registered by the police,” said Khalsa.
Meanwhile, Head Constable Jagdish Kumar, who is looking into the matter in absence of SHO Prem Singh, who is on leave, said it was a case of personal rivalry over land. “It is not that we are not registering the case. Every time we go to Khalsa’s place, it is locked. We even called Khalsa on phone and he said he would inform us once he was back from the Civil Hospital and we were still waiting for his call. It seems to be a rivalry over a piece of land. Details could be known only after getting the statement recorded by the complainant,” said the Head Constable.