Victim seeks CM’s intervention to recover his rightful land
BOKO: Sept 30: Former president of the All Rabha Students Union (ARSU), Ramen Singh Rabha, has become embroiled in a controversy over allegations of land grabbing in Boko in Lower Assam’s Kamrup district.
The controversy centres on a piece of land measuring ½ bigha, which reportedly belonged to a retired teacher named Nagen Kalita. Kalita, who has no children, was undergoing treatment at Nemcare Hospital in Guwahati in 2018 when the alleged incident occurred.
It is claimed that during this period, Ramen Singh Rabha illegally took possession of the land and proceeded to construct a building on it. These allegations have raised concerns about the misuse of power and authority, as Rabha’s position within ARSU may have influenced the situation.
Nagen Kalita is struggling to reclaim his land, which he alleges was unlawfully occupied by Ramen Singh Rabha. According to Kalita, he, along with two others, purchased the land in equal parts from Belka Rabha in 1978 at Turukpara village, under the Boko Revenue Circle. Initially, a tailor named Ranjit Kalita lived on the land for about 16 years before moving to his own house. Afterward, Kalita fenced the land’s boundary.
In 2018, while Kalita was undergoing treatment at Nemcare Hospital in Guwahati for nearly eight months, Ramen Singh Rabha allegedly occupied the land and constructed a boundary wall. Upon returning home, Kalita discovered that Rabha had strategically taken control of the land. Kalita approached several authorities, including the Boko Circle Office, the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC), the Kamrup district commissioner, and even the then Chief Minister of Assam, but his complaints went unheard.
Despite continuing to pay the treasury for the land, Kalita found that ownership had been transferred to Deepika Rabha, the wife of Ramen Singh Rabha. Later, he learned that the land records had been further changed, with the owner now listed as Harimohan Rabha, leaving Kalita without any legal recourse in the records.
Kalita expressed frustration and disbelief that Ramen Singh Rabha and his wife, a professor, would engage in such acts, raising concerns about the moral standing of people in positions of authority and their impact on society. Kalita is still seeking justice but has yet to receive any help in reclaiming his land.
Kalita has accused the staff at the Boko Revenue Circle office of registering his land to others without his permission. Kalita, who claims he purchased the land with his hard-earned money in 1978, expressed his frustration, urging the revenue office staff to stop engaging in such unethical practices.
During a media interaction, the 70-year-old teacher made a direct appeal to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, seeking justice for the unlawful occupation of his land by the former student leader. Despite numerous complaints to authorities over the years, Kalita has received no assistance in reclaiming his property.
Supporting Kalita’s claims, Ramakanta Rabha, a former co-leader of Ramen Singh Rabha and currently the vice chairman of the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council (RHAC), along with Sumit Rabha, an executive member of the RHAC, also alleged that Ramen Singh Rabha had occupied Kalita’s land. Their statements lend further credibility to Kalita’s accusations, highlighting the misuse of power and authority in the region.
Kalita continued to seek justice in the hope that the Chief Minister’s intervention will help him recover his rightful land.
