Local BJP leader, associates booked for demolishing house in Prayagraj

Prayagraj: Police have booked a local BJP leader and his associates for allegedly demolishing a house built on a plot of land along a highway here using a bulldozer, officials said on Saturday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Yamuna Nagar) Vivek Kumar said Ghurpur police station was informed about the demolition on September 5 by the building's owner Abhishek Tripathi.

He said a police team inspected the spot and registered an FIR based on Tripathi's complaint.

Two persons have been arrested in the case and the bulldozer was seized, Kumar added.

In his complaint, Tripathi alleged that local BJP leader Raees Chandra Shukla's aides Alankar Singh and Chandrasen, along with around 30 unidentified people, demolished his house and its boundary wall on September 5 and looted his belongings.

According to Tripathi, a land dispute case was going on in a court over the property between him and Raees Chandra Shukla, his son Sandeep Shukla, Devendra Singh, Harshita Rautela, Tapas Kesarwani and Abhishek Gupta.

Tripathi claimed that Raees Chandra Shukla threatened to kill him on September 1 and occupy the house.

Ghurpur police station SHO Keshav Verma said the case was registered against Raees Chandra Shukla, Alankar Singh, Chandrasen and 30 other people.

Alankar Singh and Ajay Singh have been arrested, but Raees Shukla and Chandrasen are at large, he added.

Raees Chandra Shukla contested the 2022 assembly elections unsuccessfully against the BJP's Nand Gopal Gupta (Nandi) on a Samajwadi Party ticket.

After losing this seat, he joined the BJP.