Rourkela: A businessman, identified as Rajesh Agarwal, and two of his accomplices have been arrested for allegedly encroaching on forest land and trying to construct a house on it, officials informed here Tuesday. Even though the three were arrested May 11, the Forest Department disclosed the matter Tuesday.
Officials said that Agarwal had been warned repeatedly and letters had been sent to him to vacate the land and stop construction, but he did not do so. “We investigated the matter and there is proof beyond doubt that Agarwal was illegally constructing a building on land belonging to the Forest department,” informed Gyanendra Lima, a ranger of Panposh division. Lima said that when Agarwal did not heed to warnings to stop construction, officials visited the site. “When we visited the under-construction house, we found two carpenters inside it making furniture. Agarwal was also present and we arrested all three,” Lima stated.
Officials stated that during interrogation, Agarwal informed that he had purchased the land from a member of the local tribal community for Rs 15 lakh. However, terming this statement as ‘a blatant lie’ an official pointed out that Sundargarh is a scheduled district and tribal land cannot be bought. “We are surprised as to how Agarwal managed to construct a portion of the house without anyone having a whiff of it,” the official informed. The three were forwarded to court Tuesday where their bail pleas were rejected.
