As if wedded to controversy followed by legal wranglings, Ashok Kheny, MD, NICE is facing atrocity charges from K Hanumanthappa, former Director, Indian Navy for assaulting and abusing the latter.
In his complaint to the Bannerghatta police, Hanumanthappa has charged Kheny and five others of trespassing, abusing and assaulting him to forcibly vacate him from his residence at Pilganahalli village.

The complainant, who belongs to the schedule caste community has stated in his complaint dated August 30, 2009 that there was an attempt to bulldoze his house and bring him to the street by the NICE authorities.

High Court stay
“Over 20 persons with JCBs came near my house and tried to dig a road in front of my house, which has been stayed by the High Court, but when we said that they cannot do it, they abused me and my wife using filthy language and threatened to demolish our house until police intervened,” he said.

He said that the police, though arrived on the scene accepted the complaint, did not register the FIR for more than 36 hours. “We had to run from pillar to post meeting the DySP, SP and IGP to ensure that the FIR was lodged against the erring persons,” he complained.

Hanumanthappa, a former director with Indian navy was in procurement, planning and warehousing and stores section and had moved the High Court against the NICE company’s efforts to acquire his property of about five acres, where he had established Priyadarshini nursery.

 Following his petition, the Court had ordered a status quo. Hanumanthappa has alleged that even after this, the company authorities had stormed into his residential premises and had bulldozed over a thousand plants.
When contacted, Ashok Kheny, Managing Director, NICE said that he has not violated any Court order and said that this was politically motivated to stop his project. “There are several such complaints against me, even when I am out of country, people have been constantly making allegations against me. We will abide by the Court order,” he said.