War widow among victims in Palampur land scam; locals seek vigilance probe

In a disturbing development, more victims have come forward in the Palampur land scam, including 80-year-old war widow Sarla Devi, whose husband laid down his life in the 1971 India-Pak war. The revelation has sparked outrage, as even a war widow was allegedly not spared by the land mafia in collusion with revenue officials.

Speaking to The Tribune through tears, Sarla Devi recounted that her family had been residing on the disputed land since before Independence. “This land was in our possession as tenants. In 1972, after the enactment of the Himachal Pradesh Land Tenancy Act, the ownership was legally transferred to my father-in-law, who was alive at the time. The original landowners never objected or filed LR-V forms. Since then, the land has remained undisputed and has been recorded in my name in official revenue records,” she explained.

However, Sarla Devi said her world turned upside down recently when a local property dealer, accompanied by a patwari and a kanungo, arrived at her home and informed her that the land had been sold to them by the legal heirs of the original leaseholders. “Since that day, I have been bedridden from the shock,” she said.

Other victims — Sita Ram, Vipin Kumar, Vijay Kumar and Pritam Chand — echoed similar experiences. They claimed their families had been cultivating the land for generations and following the October 3, 1972 implementation of the HP Land Tenancy Act, the state government had officially transferred the land ownership to them.

They expressed disbelief at how the Naib Tehsildar of Palampur allegedly processed ownership transfers in favour of four women claiming to be legal heirs of the leaseholders without issuing any summons or notice to the current occupants. “We are permanent residents of Mohal Banuri, yet we were neither called to the tehsil office nor given an opportunity to present our case,” they said.

The victims claim they have approached local MLA Ashish Butail, who has assured them of support in reclaiming their land. They also decried the harassment by revenue officials, accusing them of dragging innocent farmers into a legal battle despite clear records of ownership.

Demanding justice, the victims have appealed to CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to order a high-level investigation, register criminal cases against the involved revenue officials and land mafia and hand over the case to the State Vigilance Bureau for thorough inquiry.

Himachal Tribune