The atmosphere in Latifpura, Jalandhar city, has become tense again after three years. Police arrived at 7 a.m. on Tuesday to evict encroachers. After an hour-long operation, the police removed the encroachers and confiscated their tents.
The police claim that after a hearing in the High Court, they received orders to vacate the site. Following this, the police arrived in Latifpura. The administration had evicted the homes of approximately 100 families living there in 2022. Some homes were demolished, after which people set up tents and settled on the land.
In 2022, people had protested against the police action on a large scale. Learning from this, the police suppressed the protests this time around. To prevent people from outside from coming to protest, the police erected barricades around the encroached area in Latifpura. No one was allowed to proceed further.
Police also closed the streets, preventing people from returning home.
Before removing the encroachments, the police also closed the surrounding streets. Many people who were supposed to leave their homes before 7 a.m. for walks or other errands are now struggling to return home. When women from the nearby neighborhood came out of their homes and started walking towards the street, they were stopped by the police. The women pleaded with the police to let them go a little further, but the police did not allow them to proceed further.
Encroachments were removed on December 9, 2022
On December 9, 2022, Jalandhar Police sealed off the entire area with a heavy police force. That morning, the administration team arrived to demolish illegal houses in the area. Following this, people clashed with them. They stated that they would not vacate their homes even if machinery were to be used on them.
Several political parties, including farmers’ organizations, came out in support of the people of Latifpura. Farmers also had arguments with police and administration officials.