PIONEEREDGE NEWS SERVICE | Dehradun
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has arrested Bharatiya Janata Party councillor Manish Kumar alias Baller and Pankaj Ashtwal in Haridwar district’s Roorkee in a land fraud case linked to gangster Praveen Valmiki. The two accused allegedly conspired to forge documents and sell property by threatening a woman and her family, the STF senior superintendent of police Navneet Singh Bhullar said.
A case has been registered at Gangnahar police station in Haridwar district and both accused were taken to Dehradun. According to the Bhullar, the Valmiki gang has been allegedly involved in illegal land grabbing in Haridwar. Investigations revealed that after the death of Sunehra village resident Shyam Bihari in 2014, his brother Krishna Gopal was killed in 2018 and Bihari’s widow Rekha was pressured to transfer the property. When she refused, her brother was allegedly attacked in 2019.
The family later went into hiding and forged power of attorney documents were prepared in their names to sell the land. The STF also found that in 2022–23, the gang attempted to take control of property belonging to Muzaffarnagar resident Sandeep Kumar while he was lodged in Haridwar jail. Agreements were allegedly executed without payment, though later cancelled after intervention by another gang. Singh said that the police have booked Valmiki, Baller, Ashtwal and others under sections 120B, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code along with provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Further investigation is underway, he added. Besides this, the BJP expelled Kumar from the party after the arrest on Thursday.
The Haridwar district president of BJP Madhu Singh issued an expulsion notice stating, “Councilor Manish of ward number 38 of Roorkee has been found involved in anti-party activities. Therefore, he is hereby expelled from the primary membership of the BJP with immediate effect.”
