Farmers to barge into land 'encroached' by Judge

A Communist Party of India-Marxist affiliated farmers' body in Tamil Nadu has announced that on November 9 it would forcibly enter the land allegedly encroached by Karnataka high court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran in a village in Tiruvallur district and distribute it to landless poor and Dalits.

Tulsi Narayanan, district secretary of the All India Kisan Sabha, which is spearheading the agitation since the charges of encroachment of land in the Kaverirajapuram village surfaced against Justice Dinakaran, said they had informed the district administration of their agitation programme.

"Top CPI-M leaders are scheduled to participate in the protest at Kaverirajapuram. We have already printed one lakh pamphlets to reach out to households in Tiruvallur district," he said.

Protesters would forcibly enter the alleged encroached land on November 9 and "hoist the Kisan Sabha flag" before distributing it among the poor, he said.

The farmers' body has been at the forefront of the agitation against Justice Dinakaran, whose elevation to the Supreme Court has been put on hold by the apex court collegium in the wake of the charges.

The district collector, at the instance of the Supreme Court, had sent a "discreet" report giving details about the alleged encroachment.

A section of villagers had last month filed a police complaint alleging that fencing on stretches of the allegedly encroached land were removed in an "attempt to destroy evidence".

Local revenue officials had confirmed removal of the fencing over more than 1,500 metres.