Gangsters Act invoked against 5 land mafias, says Noida admin

The Gautam Buddh Nagar administration on Thursday booked five land mafias, who illegally sold land plots to gullible buyers along the flood-prone banks of Yamuna river, under the stringent Uttar Pradesh Gangsters Act.

Those booked have been identified as Vijay Pal, Satya Kumar Singh and Sushil Dubey, all three of Delhi, besides Harveer Singh of Gautam Buddh Nagar and Pratosh Kumar Bhati of Dibai, Bulandshahr, the administration said.

District Magistrate Brajesh Narain Singh, based on a report by Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna, pressed the charges under the UP Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986 against them, an official statement said.

"These land mafias had illegally alloted plots along the bank of the Yamuna river in flood-prone regions to the poor people luring them with cheap property rates," it said.

"Their actions have been deemed dangerous for life and property of the common man, and led to a situation of panic and fear among locals which is why nobody is coming forward to testify against them," it added.

The administration has booked at least eight land mafias in last 40 days under the stringent Act, which provides special provisions for the prevention of, and for coping with, gangsters and anti-social activities and for connected matters.

Since April 2017, the administration has invoked the Gangsters Act against more than 600 anti-social elements including drug and liquor mafias, rogue builders.

"The district administration is committed to ensuring continuous strict action against people of criminal nature. Therefore, similar action will be taken in future against the mafia and criminals under the Gangsters Act and the Goonda Act besides considering their expulsion from the district," Singh was quoted as saying in the statement.