A self-styled godman in Sundargarh is now in soup as police have registered a case against him and his associates, allegedly for encroaching about 100 acres of land, including a village road and a play ground, under the lepripada police limits.
The accused are absconding and police have launched a manhunt against them. A police team, after visiting the spot, conducted an inquiry into the matter. The godman is reportedly working as a school teacher in a Government school in the district.
The accused godman is Dolamani Patel, who works in the Girls High School in lephripara. He had reportedly lured the villagers of Bandjharia and Satjharia to donate their land under the plea of constructing a hospital in same village and had purchased few acres of land from them at a very nominal price during 2003. Thereafter, Patel had developed an ashram of his own and claimed himself as a self-styled god man. Some others had joined as his associates. He was popularly known as Dola Baba.
There were, however, resentments among local people since Dola Baba had not constructed any hospital in their village.
Recently, the villagers had a tussle with the volunteers of ashram over the encroachment of a village road, following which tension had prevailed in the area. The persons, who had sold their land, also claimed that the Baba should return their land to them since the land is not used for construction of hospital.
Following the controversy, one Sundarmani Majhi along with other villagers had reached lephripara police station and had lodged a complaint against Dola Baba and his four associates.