The Bijnor police have filed an FIR against a journalist and two others on the charge of levelling baseless allegations against senior Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader Champat Rai and his brothers of grabbing land from a gaushala in the district.
Senior journalist Vineet Narain, his associate Rajneesh and Alka Lahoti, whose land Mr. Narain claimed was allegedly grabbed by Mr. Rai’s family, were named in the FIR at the Nagina police station, said Bijnor SP Dharm Veer Singh. The complaint was lodged by Mr. Rai's brother, Sanjay Bansal, said the police.
Mr. Rai is the general secretary of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, which is entrusted with the task of building a Ram mandir in Ayodhya.
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College construction
In several posts on social media, particularly on Facebook, Mr. Narain, who also runs an NGO, alleged that Mr. Rai through his brothers had grabbed the land of a gaushala worth ₹50 crore and illegally constructed a degree college on it.
Head of the gaushala Alka Lahoti returned from Indonesia and tried to fight against the land grab but the administration did not help her due to pressure from Mr. Rai, alleged Mr. Narain.
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The SP said the three were charged with hurting the sentiments of crores of people of a particular community, having fake documents, house trespass and forgery.
“The allegations made against Champat Rai by the accused are fabricated and baseless, and prima facie so are the allegations levelled against his family.” Investigation into the case would be held under the supervision of a gazetted officer, he added.