A bulldozer being used to demolish illegal structures. Representative image.
PTI File Photo
Indore: A bungalow situated on 10,000 square feet of government land in Indore district was demolished on Sunday, three days after officials trying to raze the structure were allegedly fired upon by a man who had allegedly encroached upon the plot and three private security guards.
On August 14, when revenue officials arrived to remove the illegal construction, Suresh Patel and three guards—Jaideep Mishra, Pradeep Mishra, and Jai Kumar Sharma—fired multiple rounds from their licensed 12-bore guns, Banganga police station in-charge Lokesh Bhadoriya told PTI.
He said the security guards have been arrested but Patel, who illegally possessed the land, is on the run.
Nobody was injured in the shooting.
Following instructions from Collector Ashish Singh and Indore Municipal Commissioner Shivam Verma, a coordinated demolition operation commenced early on Sunday, said Deputy Municipal Commissioner Lata Agrawal.
A joint team from the district administration, police, and municipal authorities employed six heavy earth-moving machines and three JCBs to dismantle the bungalow situated on approximately 10,000 sq ft land and additional encroachments in Bhorsala village along the Indore-Ujjain Highway, she said.
The operation, which began at 5 AM, concluded within three hours, Agrawal added.
Patel had encroached upon a total of 30,000 square feet of government land, the deputy municipal commissioner said.
In response to the incident, district authorities have initiated proceedings to invoke the stringent National Security Act (NSA) against the accused.
The land in question is owned by Dr. Vinod Bhandari, founder-president of Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS). The Madhya Pradesh High Court had directed the district administration to clear the illegal encroachments from this property, officials had said.