Four police officers, including the Station House Officer (SHO) of Nabha Kotwali police station, and four protestors from the Schedule Caste community were injured during clashes over the possession of common land in Punjab’s Nabha. The clashes took place in Mandaur village of Nabha in the Patiala district.
The confrontation erupted over the control of approximately 42 acres of Panchayati land, which was designated for the reserved category. The land had been auctioned off three weeks prior, and the police arrived in the village to grant possession to the winning bidders. However, the Zameen Prapati Sangharsh Committee (ZPSC), a protest organization, alleged that the land had been allocated to dummy candidates of the upper-caste villagers.
The protestors further claimed that as per the Panchayati Raj act, a single bidder cannot be granted more than 10 acres of land for tilling purposes. However, in this case, a single bidder had been allotted 32 acres. The officials, on the other hand, argued that the policy had not specifically stated any restriction on auctioning land beyond 10 acres to a single bidder in the past two years.
Following these allegations, a probe committee was formed to investigate the matter, and the claims made by the ZPSC were found to be baseless. Subsequently, the police arrived to enforce the allottees’ possession of the land.
During the clash, the police reported that the protestors threw stones at them, resulting in injuries to four policemen, including the SHO. The protestors, on the other hand, claimed that the police resorted to a lathi-charge (a baton charge) on them first, prompting them to retaliate with stones. They alleged that seven protestors, including women, were injured in the clash, while the police have detained several protesters.
Mukesh Maloud, leader of the ZPSC, accused the district administration of allowing outsiders to gain possession of the land instead of compensating the villagers. He mentioned an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Deputy Commissioner for Integrated Development Commission, with the next hearing scheduled for July 27. However, the district administration took action independently after conducting an inquiry and giving a clean chit to the winning bidders.
The protestors attempted to march towards the residence of Cabinet Minister Balbir Singh in Patiala but were intercepted by the police. Many protestors were reportedly detained by the authorities.
Varun Sharma, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) in Patiala, stated that the police have registered a case against the protestors who assaulted the on-duty officers in the presence of a magistrate. He added that the police used mild force to disperse the protestors and that five police officers were injured. Multiple arrests have been made, and the police possess video evidence showing the protestors turning aggressive against them.
In conclusion, the clash over the possession of common land in Nabha has resulted in injuries to four police officers and four protestors. The dispute arose after the ZPSC alleged that the land had been allocated to dummy candidates from the upper-caste villagers. While an investigation cleared the allegations, tensions escalated during the enforcement of the allottees’ possession, leading to the clash between the police and the protestors.
