Advocate PC Tiwari, who had secured a stay order from the civil court against the under-construction school in Nainisar of Almora district being raised by Jindal Group, was allegedly attacked by "goons" on Saturday. The incident happened as the advocate went to see the court order being executed on the ground along with others.
Notably, during the last Gairsain Vidhan Sabha session, the State Government had constituted a committee led by Principal Secretary Radha Raturi to go into the case as the local people staged protests against the construction, alleging that the plot of land was resting with the gram panchayat. The report is yet to come out, but the pace of construction has expedited, ignoring the villagers' protest.
Advocate Tiwari, who is also known as a social activist, had challenged the construction in the civil court and the court had given the stay order on Friday.
Condemning the incident, the leader of the Opposition and the State BJP president Ajay Bhatt alleged on Saturday that the Jindal Group had unleashed its "goons" on the advocate. "We are convinced that the land was given to the group without the nod of the Cabinet in lieu of money passed on as part of under the table deal," he said.
He further said that the incident has vindicated their stance that the mafias are ruling the roost in the State. "Now, things have come to such a pass that Haryana-based mafias are reaching Pithoragarh and the Jindal Group's goons are attacking an advocate in Almora," Bhatt said.
Tearing into the Chief Minister, Bhatt said that Harish Rawat himself had presided over the foundation ceremony of the school.
"In his address, CM said that to check migration from the hills, he had allotted land to them. Now, the question is that if the State Government gives away panchayat land to the land mafias at throwaway prices and the advocate who protested is attacked by goons would it help arrest the trend of migration from the hillsIJ" he asked.
Bhatt alleged that the "goons" had threatened to murder Tiwari's son if the advocate continued stonewalling their land grab drive. "My party is demanding that the Chief Minister make his Government's stand clear on the sensitive issue," Bhatt said.