Apprehending another Narayanpatna-like situation, the State Government finally asked the Crime Branch to probe the alleged land scam in Patnagarh block of Balangir district.
The farmers of Ghumer, Jalpali, Ainlatunga, Kirabhal, Thelkochapar, Ghunghutipali and Bagbahali villages had alleged that Mumbai and Agra-based companies had duped them into selling their land.
Although mass registration of the land at a high price had caught the attention of the then Balangir District Collector S Santhagopalan, who had stopped the registration process and ordered an inquiry by Revenue Divisional Commissioner (North), the report with the State Government had been gathering dust.
The Crime Branch team led by SP Duryodhan Rout visited Ghunghutipali and Jalpali villages on Friday. It had visited Ghumer and Ainlatunga villages, the previous day. The team interacted with the police and the affected farmers.
Meanwhile, Patnagarh Police arrested Debendra Kumar Tyagi and Ajay Sharma on Friday. They were reportedly working as agents of the companies and had threatened the farmers who tried to reclaim their land.
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