Farmers from Khadarwadi village and members of the Sri Ram Sena Hindustan staged a protest in Belagavi on Friday, accusing BJP MLA Abhay Patil and his brothers of illegally seizing 155 acres of their land. The protesters marched to the Police Commissioner’s office, shouting slogans against the MLA, and submitted a memorandum to Commissioner Iada Martin Marbaniang, requesting protection for their land.
The farmers claimed that out of the 360 acres of cultivable land in their village, the MLA and his brothers had allegedly encroached on 155 acres through benami transactions. This encroachment, they said, had severely impacted their livelihoods, forcing them to abandon farming and take up menial jobs.
Ramakant Konduskar, a leader of the Sri Ram Sena Hindustan, alleged that the accused had created a climate of fear in the village by issuing fake land acquisition notices, pressuring some villagers to sell their land in survey numbers 407 to 450 to intermediaries. He further claimed that Mr. Patil’s brothers had threatened villagers who resisted giving up their land.
