It took this NRI 2 months to get illegal occupants on his land booked

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 23

For Jaswant Singh, who has lived most of his life in New York, the experience of the local police and justice leaves a bad taste in the mouth, as he has had a harrowing experience of getting a case registered against the illegal occupants on his agricultural land in Sanghna village, near here.

For the last two months, Jaswant has tried every contact he had here as well as in his Punjabi diaspora in the US. Finally, with the intervention of the minister for NRI affairs, he managed to get the encroachers booked, and now, three persons, including a woman, have been booked by the Chattiwind police.

After living in the US for the last 35 years, Jaswant expressed: “Coming to Punjab has always been a soothing experience, but not this time. All I have on my mind is to get my land back and how to dispose it off.” He said it was his first experience with the local system, as he had left the country at a young age.

What astonishes Jaswant is the fact that the NRI cell constituted to cater to the complaints of NRIs is not doing its job properly. He said: “It took me two-and-a-half months to file a complaint against the accused. Back in the US, a mere telephonic complaint would have been sufficient to prompt the police to act,” he said.

“I came to know about the ‘kabza’ on my land on April 16. After verifying the facts, I filed a complaint via email on April 17. I received an acknowledgement on April 22,” he said.

The long wait for justice forced him to finally take a flight and come here. He said his land became the target for ‘kabza’ as he was an NRI and cannot be here often to pursue legal matters. Singh said the state government must devise a plan to save the properties of NRIs from criminal elements.

Chattiwind police register FIR against 3 persons, including a woman

It took me two-and-a-half months to get a complaint filed against the accused. Back in the US, a mere telephonic complaint would have been sufficient to prompt cops to act. I came to know about the kabza on April 16. After verifying the facts, I filed a complaint via e-mail on April 17. I received an acknowledgement on April 22. The long wait for justice forced me to finally take a flight and come here. My land was encroached as I am an NRI and cannot be here often to pursue legal matters. The state government must devise a plan to save the properties of NRIs from criminal elements. — Jaswant Singh, an NRI based in New York

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