Bengaluru demolition drive: 4 agents booked for collecting rent from families who lived on govt land

Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra and other Opposition leaders during a protest under the slogan 'Save Kogilu, Remove Illegal Immigrants' over the state government's move to provide houses to those who lost their dwellings in an eviction of encroachments in Kogilu recently, in Karnataka. (Source: PTI)

The Yelahanka police in Bengaluru Sunday booked four agents who allegedly collected rent from people who lived in temporary sheds on encroached government land in the Kogilu Layout area. This was after the Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited (BSWML) filed a complaint against these agents following the demolition drive at Kogilu Layout.

The accused have been identified as Vijay, Wasim Ulla Baig, Muni Anjinappa and Robin. According to the complainant, Santoshkumar Kaddi, a BSWML engineer, a 14.36-acre land in Kogilu village was acquired and handed over to the civic agency. The land was earmarked for the construction of the biomethane generation unit and other waste segregation units.

Tenders for these projects were floated in 2023, and construction on the acquired land was set to begin. However, the officials discovered that several unauthorised temporary tin sheds had been constructed over four acres of land.

On December 20, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) and other department officials demolished the approximately 160 illegal tin sheds and cleared the encroachment.

During the eviction operation, it was found that the accused had illegally rented the land to the dwellers and were collecting money from them. The police registered a case under sections 192 (a)(1) and 192 (b) of the Karnataka Land Revenue Act and began the probe.

In another suo motu case, the Yelahanka police booked five people for allegedly staging a protest against the demolition drive. According to the FIR, on January 4, Dalit leaders Gowramma, Manohar, Mariyappa, Isak, and others staged a protest for more than an hour, demanding shelter for those who lost their homes during the demolition.

The police registered a case under Section 223(a) (disobedience to orders from public servants) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhitha (BNS) and are further probing the matter.

On December 21, civic agencies began a demolition drive in Kogilu Layout, Yelahanka, leaving more than 150 families homeless. The demolished structures were built on government land designated for solid waste management projects. Following the demolition, these families were left to live near a government school playground.

The occupants, mostly poor migrant workers employed in the unorganised sector, alleged that they were not allowed to collect their belongings and were sent away from their homes.