Neyyattinkara couple's death: Probe finds disputed land owned by neighbour
The tehsildar's report confirmed Vasantha's statement that she had bought the land from Sugandhi, the former holder of the land who, in turn, had purchased it from S Sukumaran Nair, the original title deed holder.
The tehsildar's report confirmed Vasantha's statement that she had bought the land from Sugandhi, the former holder of the land who, in turn, had purchased it from S Sukumaran Nair, the original title deed holder.
The tehsildar's report confirmed Vasantha's statement that she had bought the land from Sugandhi, the former holder of the land who, in turn, had purchased it from S Sukumaran Nair, the original title deed holder.
The Neyyattinkara tehsildar, in his report to District Collector Navjyot Khosa on Wednesday, said that the three-and-a-half cents of disputed land on which the deceased Rajan and family had lived was purchased by Vasantha, the neighbour who had moved the court against Rajan for illegal occupation.
The tehsildar's report confirmed Vasantha's statement that she had bought the land from Sugandhi, the former holder of the land who, in turn, had purchased it from S Sukumaran Nair, the original title deed holder. The tehsildar's report also said that the land, adjacent to the six cents on which Vasantha's house stands, was not 'poromboke' or revenue land, as alleged by the sons of the deceased.
Rajan's impulsive protest, which eventually led to his death, happened when the Court-appointed observers reached the site to implement the eviction orders on December 22. Rajan doused himself and his wife Ambili with kerosene and threatened self immolation by firing a lighter but accidentally got consumed by the fire. Both suffered serious injury and died six days later on December 28.
The eviction order was based on a petition filed by Vasantha saying that Rajan had forcibly trespassed into her land.
Following the self-immolation tragedy, there was a local swell of anger and it was alleged that Vasantha did not have the title deed to the land in the possession of Rajan and also that the land was 'poromboke' or government land. The Collector had asked Neyyattinkara tehsildar Ajaya Kumar to investigate.
It also turns out that Rajan was misled by wrong official information. Rajan was said to be in possession of official documents that showed that the title deed of the land was in the hands of three people: S Sukumaran Nair, K Kamalakshi and K Vimala. Family sources close to Rajan said he had laid claim to the land after he received legal opinion that the title deed holders had abandoned the plot.
It is said the Neyyattinkara Taluk Office had not told him what the tehsildar has now found, that the land was now legally in the possession of Vasantha's grandson.
That Vasantha had purchased the land, in her grandson's name, is now clear. The tehsildar attests that the sale deed is legal. But what is still in doubt is whether it was proper to buy government land handed over to the homeless as part of the 'Laksham Veedu' Colony project that began in 1972.
The tehsildar wants the government to take a final call on this. The Revenue Department had issued three orders regarding the sale of 'Laksham Veedu' Colony title deeds. The first one, in 1988, did not prohibit sale. The first owners of the plot in Neyyatinkara's 'Laksham Veedu' Colony at Pongil got their title deeds in 1989.
But the subsequent two orders, in 1997 and 2015, put forth conditions for sale. Vasantha is said to have bought the land in 2016. It has to be ascertained whether Vasantha had adhered to these conditions while purchasing the land.