A 44-year-old BJP worker was killed and his two brothers injured in a dispute over irrigation water between neighbors in Dehradun’s Vikasnagar area late on Saturday, sparking violent protests in the area, with angry crowds demanding immediate action, pelting stones and setting fire to one of the suspect’s houses. Meanwhile, police deployed additional teams and paramilitary forces to maintain law and order, arrested four suspects, and the district administration demolished an alleged illegal structure in the other house of the accused.
According to police, the incident took place around 6.30 pm on Saturday after an altercation broke out between the victim, Vinod Kumar, and a neighbour, Imtiaz, over an ongoing dispute over irrigation in Bairajewala village.
“During the incident, members of a group allegedly assaulted the three brothers – Ashok, Vinod and Rajesh Kumar. They were taken to Liman Hospital, where Vinod succumbed to his injuries,” Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police Bramendra Singh Dobhal said.
The death sparked intense tension in the area, as demonstrators demanded “bulldozer action” against the defendants’ properties. As a result, the district administration bulldozed part of the house of one of the accused, under the pretext of illegal construction. However, angry protesters demanded complete demolition. Later the same day, the administration demolished the entire house.
HT reached out to Dehradun district magistrate, Ashish Chauhan, and Vikasnagar SDM, Vinod Kumar, to ascertain whether the Supreme Court’s mandate of 15 days’ notice to the owner before demolition was followed, but they did not respond to calls. Vikasnagar Tehsildar Vivek Rajouri declined to comment on the matter.
Asked about the bulldozer action, state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt said: “The demolition operation against the accused was just the first indication of the government’s zero-tolerance policy towards crime.”
