Vizag has become a centre of land grab allegations between ruling YSRCP and opposition TDP as it is poised to become the state capital. The government and police are trying to send a message to people that it will not allow anyone to grab lands in the city. Vizag police arrested five persons on September 6 (Sunday) in a land property case in Potinamallayapalem in the city. In a similar incident in August, police arrested 10 people for illegally entering a property on the basis of a complaint lodged by the land owner. These two incidents appeared to be aimed at creating the impression that the government will not tolerate the land mafia.
Generally, police are not supposed to interfere in civil disputes like land. Senior officials used to warn subordinate police officials against poking nose into such rows. The complainants are told to settle their disputes in courts. Advocates say there are around one lakh land-related civil disputes being heard at courts in Visakhapatnam and its surrounding areas.
Unprecedented arrests
The speed with which police is acting and making arrests is surprising. To justify their interference in civil issues, cases are given criminal colour like assault, fake documents, trespassing, vandalism, causing hurt etc. Many such disputes of civil nature are being settled by police in the garb of law and order incidents.
Analysts see this as an attempt by the YSRCP government that there will be no place for any kind of land encroachments in the city that is soon to be made capital. It is also an effort by the government to take wind out of the sails of opposition over allegations of large scale land grabbing by the ruling party leaders.
People are saying that if police was this active in dealing with land sharks in the past, there would not have been so many illegal occupations and the need to set up a Special Investigation Team to probe them.
