Deepak Gidwani
Suspended Noida sub-divisional magistrate Durga Shakti Nagpal was not even present at the disputed site when the wall of an under-construction mosque was razed by locals in Kadalpur village of Noida (Gautam Budh Nagar) on July 27.
This fact is brought out by the LIU (local intelligence unit) report that Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had referred to while justifying the IAS officer’s suspension. When reporters had asked him on Thursday about the report submitted by Noida district magistrate, which gave a clean chit to Durga in the wall demolition issue, Akhilesh had defended the suspension saying he had relied on the LIU report.
Now, sources say the LIU report doesn’t mention Durga’s name at all. About the wall demolition of July 27, the LIU report says it was done by the local villagers at 1 pm under the supervision of the Jewar sub-divisional magistrate, Bachhu Singh. It says that the Circle Officer (CO), Jewar, Waseem Khan, and the SO (Raghupura), Ajay Yadav, were also present on the spot at that time.
The LIU report records that the demolition was carried out as the construction of the wall was unauthorised because it was on ‘gram sabha’ land. The report says there was tension in the village and police deployment in the area was needed.
Durga was suspended the same night on charges of ordering the wall demolition sparking off communal tension in the area.
Interestingly, the LIU report also establishes the involvement of Samajwadi Party leader Narendra Singh Bhati. The report says that Bhati, the SP candidate for Gautam Budh Nagar Lok Sabha seat, had given Rs 51,000 for the construction of the mosque. (Bhati had also laid the foundation stone when the construction began on June 15 this year.)
The day after the suspension, (July 28), at a public meeting in Badalpur village, Bhati had boasted that he got Durga sacked “in 41 minutes”. Bhati’s kin and close associates are known to be involved in the illegal sand mining racket in Noida and adjoining areas.
Bhati had spoken to SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav late that evening alleging that Durga had ordered the demolition of the wall which had created communal tension in the area. The Noida SDM was suspended within an hour.
Courtesy:DNA
