A 45-year-old shop belonging to senior BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh State Backward Classes Commission member, Chiranjiv Chaurasia, was demolished by a bulldozer in the Kotwali area’s Niyamat Chak locality in Gorakhpur.
Chaurasia has accused a local land mafia figure of orchestrating the act and filed a formal complaint with the police, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused.
The BJP leader, who resides in Diwan Bazaar, broke down emotionally while speaking to the media about the incident on Saturday.
According to his written complaint submitted to the Station House Officer of Kotwali, Chaurasia stated that he had been running a business from the rented shop in Niyamat Chak since 1980. He alleges that Durga Prasad Jaiswal, a known land grabber in the area, brought a bulldozer and illegally razed the shop to the ground.
Along with the demolition, Chaurasia also claimed that Rs 10,000 in cash and other valuables kept inside the shop were taken away. Despite the police registering a case, no arrests have been made so far, which has further angered the leader.
Seeking justice, Chaurasia visited the SSP’s office demanding immediate action. As the SSP was not present, he chose to wait, sitting on the floor in protest. Later, he was assisted by Circle Officer (CO) Omkar Dutt Tripathi and taken to meet the SP City for a discussion on the matter.
Speaking to the media, Chaurasia explained that he had originally rented the shop from a woman named Gayatri Devi. He alleged that her son, who later became addicted to drugs and alcohol, was manipulated and coerced by the land mafia into signing over the property.
“They intoxicated him repeatedly until he was almost dead, and then had the land transferred,” Chaurasia said.
He further stated that although Gayatri Devi’s son had taken Rs 3 lakh from him as well, he was never shown any registry papers for the property. “I have asked for the documents multiple times, but they never produced them. Recently, I became suspicious when I saw the accused near my shop, and I informed the Commissioner. He was on leave on September 15 and 16 and assigned the SDM to look into it,” he said.
While preparing to travel to Lucknow, Chaurasia said he was shocked to find his shop demolished on Friday morning. He also alleged collusion between the accused and the local police outpost in-charge, calling for a fair and transparent investigation.