Garhwal Post Bureau
Haridwar, 25 Aug: A PWD team on inspection duty for marking of encroachments was attacked in Kankhal area of Haridwar today. The PWD team has alleged that certain residents of Indira Basti obstructed the official work, manhandled the employees, snatched the government documents and also attempted to seize a mobile phone from them.
According to the complaint lodged at Kankhal police station by Assistant Engineer Chandra Lal Bharti, the team was marking the proposed route from Vishw Kalyan Ashram and Matri Sadan Ashram towards Jwalapur when the attack took place. He accused Rakesh, son of Ompal, Sanjeev, Rajiv, Indrawati and their relatives of misbehaving with the PWD staff, pushing and assaulting them, and even pelting stones and bricks at them, which created panic and forced the team to halt work. Bharti, Amin Menpal Singh, Sapna Raturi and driver Virendra sustained injuries in the scuffle.
The assailants allegedly snatched official records including diaries and land‑related papers during the clash. A video of the incident, reportedly recorded by PWD staff, has also gone viral showing some people abusing and assaulting the team. Bharti demanded legal action against the named accused and others involved.
PWD Executive Engineer Yogesh Kumar confirmed that the team had gone for encroachment marking when the assault occurred and stressed that those responsible must face action. Sub‑Inspector Anuj Singh of Kankhal police station stated that investigation is underway and identification of the attackers is being carried out on the basis of the viral video, with legal proceedings to follow.
