A police and administrative team conducting an anti-encroachment drive in Chandauli, Uttar Pradesh, was attacked by residents of Bhardua-Visheshwarpur village on Wednesday, leaving two officials injured. The incident occurred in Naugarh tehsil when the team attempted to remove alleged encroachments from government land.
According to Superintendent of Police Akash Patel, the land dispute has been ongoing for the past two to three months, with some villagers making repeated attempts to encroach upon land belonging to the forest department. The villagers had also allegedly planted paddy on land traditionally farmed by others for around 50 years.
A joint team of forest, revenue, and police officials reached the spot at around 1:30 pm to take action, following complaints about the encroachment. However, when the team began the process of freeing government land from encroachment, they were attacked by villagers with sticks.
Around 60 men and women were allegedly involved in the attack, which left a home guard and a forest ranger with head injuries. The injured officials received medical treatment, and 12 people, including men and women, have been detained in connection with the incident.
Naugarh Circle Officer Devendra Kumar stated that a case has been registered against 20 named persons under various sections, including those related to obstruction of government work and encroachment on government land. The police are currently identifying other individuals involved in the attack, and strict action will be taken against them.
The situation was brought under control using mild force, and further investigations are underway.
