Police book Samajwadi Party MP`s husband for land grab

Agra: A case has been registered against the husband of a Samajwadi Party MP and ten others for allegedly trying to grab a plot of land here, police said on Sunday.

Complainant Suresh Chand Garg, who owns a cold storage, claimed that the plot adjacent to his facility was encroached upon by a group of people. Despite the land being registered in his name, the encroacher grabbed the land and put up tin shed over it, Garg complained. On December 5, the encroacher, Arjun Singh, landed in the spot and tried to take possession of the land claiming that he had patronage of Devendra Baghel, the husband of SP Lok Sabha from Hathras constituency Sarika, police said. Soon after Devendra Baghel arrived with his men armed with sticks and beat the complainant up, they said. When efforts to get police action against the assailants failed, the cold storage owner approached SP national general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who intervened and asked the police to take action. Police said the case had been registered at the Etmadpur police station against Baghel and others, and one person, Arjun Singh, had been arrested. Sarika, who was elected to the Lok Sabha on an RLD-BJP ticket, later joined the Samajwadi Party.