Gujjars and Bakerwals File Police Complaint After Jammu Demolitions, Allege Violation of SC/ST Act and Forest Rights Act
मुख्य बातें
- •Gujjar and Bakerwal communities filed a police complaint alleging that around 30 tribal homes were demolished in Jammu’s Raika Bandi and Mahamaya forest belt on Tuesday without prior notice or legal procedure.
- •The complaint invokes the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006, claiming the demolitions violated their legal protections.
- •The Jammu and Kashmir administration formed a two-member committee to probe the demolitions and ordered a report within seven days, amid criticism of the elected government’s handling of the issue.
- •Political leaders from both the ruling National Conference and opposition PDP condemned the demolitions, while BJP supporters had staged a protest just days earlier demanding removal of alleged encroachers.
Srinagar, India – Leaders of the Gujjar and Bakerwal communities have lodged a formal complaint with police in Jammu and Kashmir, accusing local authorities of demolishing around 30 tribal habitations in violation of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, and the Forest Rights Act, 2006. The demolitions took place on Tuesday in the Raika Bandi and Mahamaya forest belt in Jammu, according to Shama Akhtar, a local councillor who was closely involved in the incident. The complaint names officials responsible for the demolition drive, which occurred without prior notice, eviction orders, rehabilitation plans, or any opportunity for the affected families to be heard.
