Senior leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday visited Fakeer Colony and parts of Waseem Layout in Kogilu Layout, where the Greater Bengaluru Authority(GBA) recently demolished houses allegedly built on government land.
The BJP alleged that the area was at risk of becoming a hub for sleeper cells, and demanded that the matter be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for a detailed probe, including verification of the citizenship of those residing there.
Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R. Ashok, along with other BJP leaders, interacted with residents in the locality and examined identity cards and other documents. According to a BJP release, Mr. Ashok questioned residents about how long they had been living in the area, who had brought them there and whether the sites had been formally allotted.
During one such interaction, a local woman reportedly told Mr. Ashok that her family had been living there for around 25 years. Disputing the claim, Mr. Ashok said there were no visible houses in satellite images from a year ago.
Addressing reporters later, Mr. Ashok criticised Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar for not visiting areas where encroachments had been cleared. He insisted that citizenship verification of the residents should be the first step and reiterated the demand for an NIA investigation.
