In a massive anti-encroachment drive, steel city police and the district administration were able to clear over 10 acres of government land from encroachment at Khaasmahal in Parsudih area on Tuesday.

Over 200 slum dwellers, mostly tribals, had encroached into the vacant government land. Many of them had even thatched houses since Sunday.

The drive, which lasted for over four hours, was initiated at 11.30 am, after a meeting took place between senior police and administrative officials at the Parsudih thana, given the sensitivity of the issue.

After the meeting was over, about 100 police men, including the lady cops equipped with two poclains, began with the eviction drive at about 150 metres away from the Parsudih thana.

OC, Parsudih thana, Rajendra Prashad Das confirmed about the drive at Khaasmahal. “A large section of bustee-dwellers had started constructing houses in an unauthorised way. We cleared the whole encroachment without any resistance,” said Das while talking to The Telegraph Online.

The OC maintained that the tribals could have been incited by some political person to grab land. The police will detect the culprit for registering a case.

During the drive, all the males had gone underground. Over 200 women, apparently encroachers, had turned up at the site and watched how the poclains were razing down the houses.

The police were seen removing the household materials from the thatched houses before allowing the poclains to raze down the houses.

Dotted with slums surrounding Khaasmahal, the area is considered a JMM-stronghold area.

A local resident, Kartik Gope while talking to this website said, “These slum-dwellers had made an abortive bid to encroach land in the year 2014 leading the administration to remove the encroachment. A similar attempt has been made after six years.”