Encroachment in Mathura park: HC cautions govt

ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad high court on Monday asked the UP government to ensure that incident like Dera Sacha Sauda was not repeated while removing illegal encroachers from a park land occupied by the followers of Jai Gurudev in Mathura. The court directed the state government to deploy adequate force to maintain law and order during the whole exercise.

The Allahabad High Court on Monday asked the UP government to ensure that incident like Dera Sacha Sauda was not repeated while removing illegal encroachers from a park land occupied by the followers of Jai Gurudev in Mathura.

The court directed the state government to deploy adequate force to maintain law and order during the whole exercise.

It directed the chief secretary to issue show-cause notices to the encroachers within one week.

And if their possession was found illegal, then they may be dispossed from the land and an action taken report may be filed in this regard within one week thereafter, it said.

It is alleged that thousands of followers of Jai Gurudev under the banner of Jai Gurudev Dharmprachar Santana have illegally encroached the land given to UPSIDC to develop a park.

The bench comprising justice Arun Tandon and justice Sangeeta Chandra passed the order on a PIL petition filed by Rajendra Singh of Mathura.

During the course of hearing, the court was informed that the land was acquired for UPSIDC to develop parks, which was illegally encroached by the followers of Jai Gurudev.

The court has fixed September 18 as next date of hearing.

Two policemen and scores of squatters belonging to an armed group led by one Ram Vriksh Yadav, once a supporter of Jai Gurudev, were killed in a police operation to free the Jawahar Bagh park in Mathura in June 2016.