UP BJP councillor booked for land grabbing

Hathras:  A BJP councillor, who was recently honoured by the Uttar Pradesh police under the state government’s Mission Shakti programme at the Hathras police station, has now been accused of land grabbing.

The certificate was handed over to the councillor for her ‘overall contribution to the society’, under the UP government programme, which intends to raise awareness among people regarding the woes of women and conducting activities to ensure their safety as well as empowering them.

The councillor, Babita Verma, along with 30 others, allegedly tried to take possession of the land of a poor woman in the district.

A video of the incident showing Verma had gone viral on social media after Congress leaders tweeted about it.

Replying to the Congress tweet, Hathras District Magistrate Parveen Laxar said that there was a land dispute case and the FIR has been registered under various sections of IPC 147 (rioting), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 448 (house trespass) against Verma and her husband along with three others on a complaint filed by the victim’s family.

In the video, the BJP councillor, along with other men, was seen trying to bring down a wall with hammers.

The family members of the woman, whose land Babita Verma allegedly tried to capture earlier, said, “The councillor should not have been honoured at the Mission Shakti programme.”