Bengaluru: A legal dispute over a commercial property between two parties in J.P. Nagar, turned ugly when a litigant dumped four truck loads of debris right in front of his opponent’s handloom store on the 24th main road on Monday.
The occupant of the property, Abbas Ali Bohara, lodged a police complaint for trespassing and nuisance, and took up the issue with the corporation authorities. But it’s been three days and the debris continues to remain piled in front of his store on the busy main road opposite RV Dental College. Mr. Bohara says that the police and the civic authorities are hand-in-glove with the litigant, identified as Bettaiah B, a resident of J.P. Nagar 2nd phase.
The matter did not end there. Bettaiah’s men also cut down the KEB wires that supplied power to the handloom store and took the wires away with them, alleged Bohara.
“I purchased the property consisting of two plots measuring 30 x 40 each and have put up my handloom store at the site measuring 2400 square-feet. I have been running my business for more than four years now. Mr. Bettaiah, who claims that the property belongs to him, had filed a petition before the court and the matter is sub judice,” says Abbas Ali Bohara. He recalls: “In the early hours of Monday, at about 5:00 a.m., Bettaiah along with his goons came with four truck loads of debris and dumped all of it in front of my store, obstructing the entire footpath. Some of the debris was even pushed inside my store using an earthmover,” added Mr. Bohara.
Bohara approached the J.P. Nagar police and lodged a complaint against Bettaiah for criminal intimidation, trespassing and creating a nuisance. He also approached the BBMP ward councilor Lakshmi Nagarj and complained about the incident. But nothing happened. “It’s been three days now, and neither has the debris been removed nor any action taken against Bettaiah by the police or corporation,” said Mr. Bohara.
There are numerous commercial establishments on the 24th main road and a college nearby, but it is Bettaiah who seems to run the area more than the police or the BBMP, says Asgar Rafiuddin, a social activist.
Mr. Agsar, a family friend of Bohara, has been running from pillar to post, from police station to BBMP office, to clear the mess in the interests of the public, but in vain.
Speaking to this newspaper, councilor of the ward, Lakshmi Nagaraj said she was unaware of the incident. Her husband Nagaraj said that they had instructed their engineers to clear the mess, but as there was a puja on Wednesday at their new ward office, engineers could not clear it. Senior police officers visited the spot, but they could not do much as the occupant Abbas Ali Bohara who claimed to be the owner of the property did not have his name on the Khata extract of the said property. Cops are treading carefully.
