By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 16 Mar: Alleged encroachment continues on land near Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple by the temple’s caretaker.
Rajiv Gurung, a social worker, has been repeatedly appealing to various government authorities to file a complaint against the alleged accused. The Gupteshwar Mahadev Temple is in Johri village, Guchchupani. Rajiv, along with other villagers, claims that the accused has undertaken unlawful activities like deforestation and plotting on temple land.
As per the complainant, the temple’s caretaker, Shankar Giri, planned this conspiracy wherein he sold the temple’s land to various property dealers. The land mafia then began to chop down trees and continued illegal construction work there. The temple land does not belong to the caretaker, the complainant added.
The complainant then approached the Forest Department and informed it about the felling of 22 trees. Forest Department officials paid a visit and issued a challan. Meanwhile, the police were approached by the villagers but the accused convinced the police that the construction work had started after taking proper approval from the authorities concerned.
But no legal document was produced by the accused before the police, claims the complainant. An appeal to file the complaint was sent to the District Magistrate office, Sub Divisional Magistrate’s (SDM) office, and Tehsildar. The complainant also filed a complaint and RTI inquiry with Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA). MDDA had also forwarded the same complaint to the SSP’s office for further action.
On the other hand, Shankar Giri has denied all the allegations made by Rajiv Gurung. Shankar said that the land belonged to his father which had been inherited by him. Shankar’s family says that the land is their personal property. He further accuses Rajiv of trying to usurp their personal land.
