The officials of Greater Noida Authority and police personnel were targeted by the villagers in Noida Extension on Monday. The officials and policemen were part of an anti-encroachment squad trying to demolish unauthorised homes and shops on the outskirts of Haibatpur village in Noida Extension area. Many policemen were injured when the angry mob set a shop on fire and vandalised the office of a construction company.
Many women from Haibatpur village pelted stone at the policemen.
“The agitated villagers pelted stones and threw burning tyres on the police force and attacked some workers at a construction site when the anti-encroachment team tried to demolish illegal structures. A company of Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) has been deployed in the area to tackle any situation,” Noida senior superintendent of police (SSP) Praveen Kumar told reporters here.
According to the police, residents of the village had encroached upon land in the reserved green belt and despite many warnings the unauthorised construction was in full swing.
A Greater Noida Authority staffer confirmed that some local builders also sold government land of the green belt resulting in unauthorised construction in the area.
The residents claimed that they were told by the dealers at the time of purchase that the plots did not belong to the Authority. However, district magistrate M.K.S. Sundaram said that he had warned the people not to buy the land.
It took half-an-hour for the police force and the PAC battalion to quell the resistance.
“Some policemen and residents suffered minor injuries in the skirmish. After that authority bulldozer demolished the unauthorised construction from Gaur City till Tigri village. The rioting mob was contained in two hours. The anti-encroachment drive was withdrawn due to heavy resistance. The situation is tense but under control,” the SSP added.