Boduppal resident alleges harassment by Ex-municipal commissioner over land encroachment; probe ordered

Hyderabad: Medchal-Malkajgiri District Collector Gowtham Potru has appointed a deputy collector as an enquiry officer to conduct a detailed probe and submit his report on or before November 20 in connection with a complaint filed by Ch Bayanna, a resident of Chengicherla Village in Boduppal against the then municipal commissioner R Upender Reddy.

In his complaint, Bayanna requested a detailed inquiry against the park area encroachment and asked for the removal of the illegal religious structure and recovery of the park area. He also sought the collector to initiate appropriate action against Upender Reddy for misuse of his office and for misleading the higher authorities with false information about the religious structure before the formation of the municipality.

Bayanna also stated that Upender Reddy with a malicious intention revoked their issued building permit and registered false criminal cases against him which caused mental and physical agony to his family members.

Case details

Ch Bayanna, a resident of Sri Aravinda Enclave in Chengicherla village under Boduppal mandal in Medchal-Malkajgiri district, purchased an open plot in the enclave in 2016 which was then sold to his son in 2017 who constructed a house there.

According to Bayanna, on July 21, 2018, he saw that local realtors who were aware of their caste tried to encroach on the colony/public park adjacent to his plot. The realtors were seen carrying some religious flags and an idol-like structure. They were also shouting slogans and were seen installing such material on the park premises.

When Bayanna objected to their actions, the realtors alleged that lands adjacent to Bayanna’s were not getting sold because he belonged to Scheduled Castes. Meanwhile, some residents Miryala Kumar Swamy, Nallategala Kumar, Gogula Mallesh Yadav, Birudu Gopal, Rupani Anjaiah and Posamaina Venugopal started abusing the complainant’s family.

The family complained to the police but they said the matter pertained to the municipality and they should file a complaint there. Bayanna then approached the then Bouduppal municipal commissioner R Upender Reddy and filed a complaint.

“He took no action on our complaint,” Kiran Kumar told NewsMeter. He is the son of Bayanna.

Following this, the locals registered complaints against Bayanna and his sons stating that they had allegedly encroached on the park. Upender acted upon the complaints, revoked the building permission of Bayanna and filed a police complaint based on the complaints of the local residents.

Complainant arrested

The police arrested Bayanna and his son Ch Kiran Kumar on August 26, 2019, and put them on remand for 21 days. Kiran Kumar argued that there was a road between their plot and the park that was built by the HMDA.

“How is it possible for us to encroach on the land? It was all done by Upender Reddy and the local residents to harass us,” he said.

After coming out of jail, they filed a petition in court alleging harassment by Upender Reddy. Upon that, the court said, “The police concerned have not taken any action (against Upender Reddy and local residents). On perusal of the record, it was found that a prima facie case was made out and it required a detailed investigation. Hence, the matter was referred to the assistant commissioner of police, Malkajgiri.”

On May 6, 2021, the police filed a case against Upender and six residents under various sections of the IPC, SC/ST (POA) Act, and Protection of Civil Rights Act.

“These people implicated us in a false case due to which my father lost his job and my family had to go through mental agony,” added Kiran.

Revocation order suspended

Meanwhile, the revocation order was challenged in the Telangana High Court and was suspended. Subsequently, based on a private complaint an FIR was registered against Upender Reddy by an SC/ST court in RangaReddy under various sections of SC, ST POA ACT, PCR and IPC, but using the influence he got the case closed by the police through the case was purely on documented evidence, the closure report was protested and pending appeal, Kiran said.

“After four years of legal struggle, I was acquitted in the false case filed by Upender Reddy proving that the false case was fabricated against my family and me. During this time, my son and I were made scapegoats by these individuals, leading to approximately 26 days of judicial incarceration, police custody, bail and trial, which jeopardised our morale and my son’s career,” Bayanna said.

Bayanna also said that he requested the Rachakonda Commissioner of Police and the Medchal-Malkajgiri collector to register an FIR against Upender Reddy under Sections 3(1)(p) and (q), 3(zc), 3(2)(va), 3(2)(ii), and 3(2)(vii) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; under Sections 7(1)(b) and (c) of the PCR Act, 1955; and Sections 211, 182, 120B read with 34 of the IPC. “I also requested a thorough investigation into these abuses and the removal of illegal structures encroaching on public land,” he added.