Encroachment case filed

The Sringeri police have registered a case against BJP member of Chikkamagaluru ZP on the charge of encroaching upon government land in Sringeri town. The case was registered by the police recently based on a complaint filed by Sringeri Tahsildar R. Ambuja.

B. Shivashankar, former president and ZP member, had been accused of encroaching upon two guntas of land in survey number 215 in Sringeri. The land belonged to government offices including a taluk office, court and judges official quarters. He allegedly encroached upon the land in December 2018. It is said that the taluk administration filed the complaint only after the Law Department took serious note and sent a report suggesting immediate steps to restore the land.

The police have booked the case under the provisions of the Karnataka Land Grabbing Prohibition Act, 2011, besides the sections under the Indian Penal Code concerning allegations of criminal trespass (IPC 447) and destroying government landmark fixed by public authority. The police have not taken him to custody.

Chikkamagaluru SP Akshay M. Hakay told The Hindu that the case had been registered as per the complaint by the tahsildar. “The case is about land grabbing. It is a revenue issue,” he said.