64 years on, whose land is it anyway?

Freedom fighter's family threatens to immolate itself on Independence Day if builder doesn't return the land it lives on, eats from and prays to

64 years on, whose land is it anyway?

Freedom fighter's family threatens to immolate itself on Independence Day if builder doesn't return the land it lives on, eats from and prays to

Mystery shrouds a 6,534 sq ft piece of property at Ambernath that is home to a famous Shiv temple, and mango and coconut farms.

While the ownership of the land is under question, three members of freedom fighter Tukaram Kalyankar's family stand to lose their lives in the dispute, as his sons, Vinayak (59) and Chandrakant (52) and daughter-in-law, Manda (54) have threatened to immolate themselves on August 15, India's 65th Independence Day, in front of the Mantralaya.

Members of freedom fighter Tukaram Kalyankar's family, Manda and
husband Vinayak Kalyankar have threatened self immolation on August
15. Pics/Datta Kumbhar

The trio has planned to take this drastic step to protest against builder Gulabrao Karanjule Patil and Vinod Navre, who it claims, have unlawfully seized its land.

What's interesting though, is that all parties claim to possess legal documents that reveal they are the real owners.

Navre alleges that the land belonged to his grandfather, who was appointed caretaker by the British government. The land was transferred to Navre in 2002.

In 2009, Navre says he sold the land to Patil, a builder in Ambernath.

However, the Kalyankars, who constructed the Shiva temple on the plot, and have been farming it since the 1980s, claim the land originally belonged to a certain Raghunath Bhau Sawant, who was a close friend of their freedom fighter father.

"I was gifted this land by Raghunath Bhau Sawant, who lived here in 1981. I have the papers to prove this.

(Sunday MiD DAY has a copy of this stamp paper document.) Till 2009, we paid non-agricultural revenue. The revenue department stopped taking the amount from us after that. Several people began to harass us to leave, and false allegations were made against my husband, my teenaged son and I. We don't have enough money to fight with the builder. We have decided to end our lives on on August 15," said Manda Kalyankar.

Her husband Vinayak, a government sweeper, said, "My father fought for the freedom of India. But this August 15, we will kill ourselves, since we don't have the freedom to live on our own land. Neither Navre nor his family are the landowners. His grandfather was given this plot of land to look after and re-develop by the British government. They were not given the right to sell it. The real owner of this land is Sawant, who gifted it to my wife. How can we forge government documents to say we are the owners of the land? We are tired of harassment from the builder."

The family has sent letters on June 30 declaring their intention of immolation to top government officials, including the President and Prime Minister of India, the chief minister of Maharashtra, and other ministers and local officials.

Tahsildar of Ambernath, Dnyaneshwar Kuthwad said, "Based on the documents I have gone through, I don't believe the Kalyankars are the owners of the land. Navre's name is mentioned in the property land papers. We received the letter about Kalyankars committing mass suicide. I have given them a reply in writing that they should appeal instead of taking this step."

When contacted, Navre affirmed that his family was the rightful owner of the land.

However, when this reporter asked him why he didn't object to the Kalyankars building a temple, and another house (next to the one they live in) on his land, he said he was ignorant that such structures had been built.

"We were ignorant since a lot of construction was going on around it (the plot). The Kalyankars are the tenants, and my family has the authority to sell the land. The Kalyankars may have forged documents to prove that they are the owners. Now, they are falsely threatening the government with suicide."

Patil, who bought the land in 2009 (a copy of the document is with Sunday MiD DAY), cited a 2005 court case that proves that he owned the land. "I don't think they will commit suicide. They are only threatening to do so, because they have lost a court case," he said.

When asked to furnish a copy of the case documents, Patil said, "I can't find the court papers. They are with my advocate, who is on leave. I will produce the papers later."

The two documents in possession of Sunday MiD DAY don't make matters clearer. While Manda Kalyankar's 2010 property document states that she is the owner of the land, the 2000, 2008 and 2011 property documents of Navre state, his family is the owner.

This reporter then sought to clarify the matter with advocate Vinod Sampat, a property lawyer. "Just because the family has paid non-agricultural revenue does not mean the land belongs to them. But if both parties have legal documents proving that they own the land, the civil court should decide," he said.

Meanwhile, senior police inspector Mahadev Pimplekar of Ambernath police station (West) said, "We investigated the matter when it came to us earlier. The records show that the land belongs to Navre. The matter is closed. If the Kalyankars claim that they are the owners, then they should approach the court instead of committing suicide."

Interestingly enough, soon after this reporter left the police station, Pimplekar told the Kalyankars that the police would reopen the case, and asked them to visit the station on Saturday evening. The police reportedly assured them that they will look into the matter.

Smita Pathak, ACP, Ambernath Division said, "The family should meet me and discuss the issue. On checking with the Ambernath police, I found that they did not furnish sufficient documents to prove that they are the owners. I will go through their documents and investigate the issue. Committing suicide is not the way to get the justice."