Paisari land: Withdrawal of cases against ex-servicemen sought

Members of various organisations have urged authorities to withdraw criminal cases filed against two ex-servicemen on charges of encroaching paisari land.

Kodagu district Ex-servicemen Association president Major General (retd) General B A Cariappa said, “We will intensify our protest if any attempt is made to trouble ex-servicemen. Encroachment of land by companies should be reclaimed and traditional dwellers should not face any inconvenience,” he said.

“During ex-servicemen adalat, the previous DC had promised to sanction paisari land for ex-servicemen. Ex-servicemen should be sanctioned 10 acres of land,” he said.

He said Lt Col (retd) Karumbaiah had been carrying out agricultural activities on the land for the past several years and thus it was not right to clear the land.

“There are over 108 files related to sanctioning of land for ex-servicemen and by filing a criminal case, authorities have insulted those who had served the country. The problem should have been solved within the framework of the law. A memorandum has been submitted to Tahsildar Mahadevaswamy for allowing clearing of land belonging to Karumbaiah,” Ammathi Kodava Samaja president Bose Devaiah told DH.

Lt Col (retd) Karubaiah and Capt (retd) S Cariappa had been residing at Puliyeri in Ammathi. There was a paisari land between the land owned by the duo. Though they had appealed to the revenue department to sanction the paisari land, it was not sanctioned. Tahsildar and revenue officials visited the spot to clear the encroachment on Monday.

When the villagers objected to it, revenue officials filed a criminal complaint against Karumbaiah and Cariappa on charges of preventing government officials from discharging their duties.