FIR filed as residents protest ‘grave’ injustice

Residents of Kaikondarahalli woke up to a rude shock on the morning of July 27 to find a 75-year-old graveyard, with around 150 graves, bulldozed to make a thoroughfare to the other side.

Based on a complaint filed by a businessman, Naveen Kumar S, Bellandur police registered a case against unknown people charging them under IPC sections 297 - trespassing on burial places and 427 - mischief.

Naveen, in his complaint, stated that the graveyard adjacent to Kaikondarahalli Lake was covered with several truckloads of mud overnight to make the thoroughfare. A stretch of the graveyard was covered in soil up to a height of about 15 feet burying the gravestones.

An earth-mover was used to level the soil. In the melee, the fence across the lake was damaged, the complaint added. Four to five trees on the roadside were cut too. A few people on their morning stroll were dumbfounded to see the graveyard turned into a muddy road.

The police are checking CCTV footage from the area to identify those involved in the encroachment. “We suspect this is the handiwork of private builders who wanted to make a road for their clients,” a senior police officer said. “However, we have to verify this,” he added.