PDP leader, SSM staff clash on Pattan land

With Ansari, Geelani on one page, Tech Fest runs into rough weather

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 22: The high profile Technical and Cultural Festival of a private engineering college in Pattan area of Baramulla district has run into rough weather after a clash between the staff of the college and a mainstream political leader. While as SSM College of Engineering has alleged that PDP leader Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, alongwith his security guards and family members, attacked some members of the staff, the opposition MLA from Pattan has held the college owners guilty of “grabbing a poor man’s land under the support of Army”.

Informed sources said that on the day of a shutdown in Valley on Friday, PDP leader and former Minister, Maulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, drove all the way to his farmhouse and orchard at Parihaspora, in Pattan area of Baramulla district, and he objected to organizing of a Technical and Cultural Festival on a piece of land, close to his farms, by SSM College. During the course, an altercation took place between the two sides and Police and Revenue authorities reached the spot.

SSM’s founder and owner, Dilafroz Qazi, told Early Times that the Police-protected mainstream politician reached the spot when students and staff of her college were raising a stage and making preparations for the two-day festival scheduled to be held by students of final year of Engineering on September 24^th and 25^th. She alleged that Maulvi, his son Imran Ansari, brother Abid Ansari and their security guards barged into the campus and ran amuck while smashing furniture, abusing the staff and students and beating up few among them. She claimed that five persons, including her brother, were beaten up with gun butts and left injured.

She alleged that the ‘assailants’ went to the second floor of the SSM’s Admissions Block and got her brother, Bilal, dragged downstairs. According to her, the attackers used vulgar language, held out threats and roughed up Bilal and others on the premises. Their objection, according to her, was that SSM was “attempting to grab a poor man’s land” while holding a show on it with the involvement of Army. She alleged that Bilal was beaten up mercilessly and he bled profusely through his nose. When she learned about it, she called up Police but incharge of Police Division Mirgund, namely SI Safdar, did not file FIR. He instead asked her to settle the dispute with Ansari amicably.

Even as Mr Ansari was not available for comment, his son, Irfan Ansari, rubbished all the charges of violence and aggression against his father, brother and uncle besides the security guards. “Maulvi Sahib and others of our family rushed there after a poor man and religious follower of the family, Malla Akbar, who is handicapped and admitted in a hospital, complained that Madam of SSM College was grabbing his piece of land forcibly, with the support of Army”, Irfan told Early Times.

According to Irfan Ansari, Ms Dilafroz has organized a show on the “disputed” piece of land with the intention of asserting her possession and thus grabbing it fully. “These allegations of aggression and manhandling are utterly rubbish. It is, in fact, the SSM people who attacked us. Maulvi Sahib immediately called SHO, SDPO and Tehsildar on the spot and asked them to give maintain Malla Akbar’s possession on the land in accordance with the Revenue records”, he said.

Irfan Ansari claimed that Revenue and Police authorities were assessing the situation and examining the records. “We will abide by law. Let the possession be held by the real owner. We won’t allow this lady to grab a poor man’s land of 5 Kanals by way of aggression”, he asserted. “Police, Army, many others are witness to the whole verbal clash. Had we attacked or hurt anybody, they would have filed an FIR immediately”.

Dilafroz retorted that she had purchased Malla’s land in 2006 for Rs 40 lakhs and the entire payment had been made to him through cheques. “Where is Haji Akbar? He is not even a complainant in this matter. Maulvi Sahib is bent upon grabbing this land but we have all the Revenue records duly in our favour. DC Baramulla and Tehsildar Pattan are fully aware of it”, she asserted. She complained that Mr Ansari was now orchestrating a vilification campaign against her and her college and spreading ‘canards’ that Army was holding a show there under Operation Sadbhavana.

She said that she was now receiving threats from some people speaking on behalf of the Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. “They have been falsely told that it was an Army show, though it isn’t”, she added and said that she was now making the situation clear to Mr Geelani. She said that her enemies were now running a campaign to defame her and sully her college’s image through social media like Facebook and Twitter.

According to Dilafroz, students of her engineering college have organized a two-day festival on the premises. “This festival is sponsored by a number of groups reached by the students. They include J&K Bank, J&K Police, Khyber Cements, Noora Hospital, Chinar Motors, Asoka Leyland, GK Spectrum and others. Army has no participation or sponsorship in it. Actually, some of our students, who feared that Maulvi Sahib would resist organizing the show on the spot, have approached Army and requested them to install a stage. I am told that they have installed it. They have no role in the festival”, she claimed.

Dilafroz said that a large number of students from different Indian engineering colleges, including J&K’s NIT, Islamic University of Science and Technology and others, were participating in the festival. Project presentation, quiz competition, essay competition, mimicry show, book exhibition and cultural programme are features of the festival. “But, Maulvi Sahib has threatened to play spoilsport. Many of the participants and organizing students are now scared. They feel harassed and request me to cancel the festival”, she said and alleged that Mr Ansari had attacked her college, students and staff dozens of times since 1990 and a number of FIRs stood already registered against him.

However, Irfan Ansari alleged that the SSM owner had already grabbed huge chunks of land on the Karewa with the support of some Police and civil officials. “Now, she wants to dispossess a genuine owner from his land who is poor and has sought only our help. We have no intention to grab any land or damage this College. Tehsildar was himself on the spot. He has submitted a report and seen that Madam has felled trees and put a bull-dozer on the job to grab this land”, he asserted.

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