Srinagar: A Kashmiri Pandit from south Kashmir’s Kulgam district Friday sought help from the police and civil administration in retrieving his ancestral land measuring 108 kanal which he alleged was illegally occupied by a local family.
Dushant Pandit alleged that his ancestral land was grabbed by a family in Kulgam and the same is now used for growing apple and pear without his consent. Pandit appealed to the administration to help him retrieve the land which actually belongs to his great grandfather.
“I returned to Kashmir in 2008 with an aim to work together with the local youth; however I was crestfallen to know that my ancestral land measuring 108 kanal at Kulgam was illegally occupied by a family of goons there and is being used for harvesting apple and pear,” Pandit told media here.
He said despite bringing the issues into the notice of police and the administration, no substantial measures have been taken so far to retrieve his land from the “illegal occupiers”.
Pandit said that his survival would have been impossible had not the locals stood in his support over these years.
The Kashmiri Pandit also alleged that he is receiving constant threats from the occupier. He appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha to personally look into the matter and issue immediate orders for retrieval of his ancestral land.
“I appeal to the LG administration and all police higher-ups to help me get my ancestral land back. I receive constant threats from the occupier. I presented several memoranda to the police and civil administration, lodged an FIR and also brought the issue into the notice of administrative higher-ups but no action has been taken against the family which has illegally grabbed my land,” added he.
He said police and the revenue department other than extending oral help have done nothing to get his land back. Pandit said despite lodging an FIR at the concerned police station, police failed to act against the occupier.
“The land has not been sold out, now had I given any attorney to anyone as is being claimed. If there is any substantial proof of me having sold my land or given some other person authority, I will apologize,” he said.
