The Cyberabad police have unveiled new plans of opening land-grabber sheets and using standard operative procedures (SOPs) to tackle land dispute cases, a frequently reported crime in their jurisdiction.
While maintaining records of persons indulging in land grabbing helps keep tab on regular offenders, SOPs provide equal justice to all, Cyberabad Police Commissioner C.V. Anand said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Several police stations in the area were flooded with complaints on rights over land, plots, real estate ventures and buildings.
Land disputes were among owners of plots in the same venture, real estate businessmen and buyers, land owners and tenants and members of the same family.
Nature of the dispute also varied like ownership, location, area, boundaries, illegal encroachment, land grabbing, tampering of records and litigation related to courts and judgements.
There were also individuals and gangs illegally taking possession of others’ lands or selling them without the knowledge of original owners by creating fake documents.
Allegations about involvement of revenue and sub-registrar offices too were heard in some cases. Taking a serious note of the frequently lodged and ever increasing land dispute complaints, the Cyberabad police top brass had a brain storming session on dealing with such cases.
A team was also sent to Bangalore Commissionerate to study the special cell probing land grabbing cases.
“The way sheets against individuals involving in communal and other offences are created, now land grabber sheets are opened against offenders in each station area to help police officials to take the right decisions when they are posted to new areas,” Mr. Anand said. A separate file on major land dispute reported will be created in every police station, comprising details of the accused, their antecedents, previous offences if any and the modus operandi. The SOPs include summoning of all connected parties at once and conducting an open inquiry to avoid allegations of bias.
They comprise several do’s and don’ts like not providing police protection on mere production of General Power of Attorney by a litigant unless the court gives specific direction.
