Kota (Rajasthan), Mar 17 (PTI) Congress leader Amin Pathan was arrested on Sunday for allegedly obstructing a government team from marking his farmhouse here in Rajasthan as an encroachment on forest land, police said. Pathan, after being in the BJP for 25 years, joined the Congress in November last year. He is a general secretary in the Congress’ Rajasthan unit.
Circle Inspector (CI) at the Anantpura police station Bhupendra Singh said Amin Pathan, his wife Raziya Pathan and more than a dozen others are accused of misbehaving with government officials, using “criminal force” on them and obstructing government work.
The team of officials, which was in Anandpura village to survey structures, including the farmhouse, for encroachment on forest land, was forced to leave the area on Saturday afternoon, he said. Singh said a case was registered against Amin Pathan, his wife and the others on Saturday night under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 332 (causing hurt to public servant) and 353 (criminal force to deter public servant from discharging duty).
Amin Pathan was produced before a residential court here on Sunday evening and it ordered that he be sent to judicial custody, police said. He had moved a bail application but it was rejected.
A large number of his supporters had gathered around the court complex. There was heavy deployment of police personnel there.
On Saturday afternoon, a forest team along with revenue department and urban improvement trust personnel had visited the village for land measurement on basis of a report that Amin Pathan’s farmhouse and other structures were built on forest land illegally, Singh said.
While the team was marking the farmhouse’s area on forest land as encroachment, Amin Pathan, his wife and 10 to 15 others allegedly came out of the farmhouse, misbehaved with officials, used criminal force and obstructed government work, he said.
The team was forced to leave the spot, the CI said, citing a report on the incident from a forest ranger.
Amin Pathan was arrested on Sunday after his interrogation, Anantapura Circle Officer and Deputy Superintendent of Police Manish Sharma said.
Investigation against 13 other accused and his wife in the matter is underway. None of them have been detained for interrogation yet, he added. PTI COR ANB ANB
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