Villagers manhandle Settlement Officer over land dispute in Dumka

Kumar Prabhat

Dumka

A long-running land dispute in Jharkhand’s Godda district took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when a group of agitated villagers allegedly dragged an Assistant Settlement Officer out of his office at the Santhal Pargana Settlement Office in Dumka, triggering a major administrative and law-and-order concern.

The protest was led by residents of Tetrariya village, including a woman identified as Sukri Devi, who accused Assistant Settlement Officer Manoj Kumar of delivering a biased judgment in a title suit related to disputed land ownership. The villagers claimed that the officer had ignored evidence presented by their side and ruled in favour of the opposing party, Uday Krishna Singh.

Angered by the ruling, the protesters travelled from Godda to Dumka and stormed the settlement office. Eyewitnesses said the crowd forcibly pulled Kumar out of his chamber and dragged him for nearly 300 metres to the office of the Divisional Commissioner in an attempt to seek intervention.

However, the Divisional Commissioner was not present at the time. The protesters subsequently met his secretary, Amit Kumar, and submitted their grievances. Surrounded by the agitated crowd, the visibly shaken officer assured them that he would place the entire case file before the Divisional Commissioner for review and ensure that all relevant records were examined.

Taking note of the serious security breach, the secretary immediately called senior police officials, including the Town Police Station in-charge and the SDPO. Following discussions involving both parties, the Assistant Settlement Officer was directed to submit all relevant documents, records and a copy of the disputed order for administrative scrutiny. The aggrieved villagers were also advised to file a formal written appeal before the Divisional Commissioner.

The incident later took a legal turn when Town Police detained four women allegedly involved in the confrontation, including Sukri Devi and her daughter, Dolly Devi. Sources said the women were on their way to prepare a formal petition when they were intercepted by police in connection with the alleged assault and forced march of the government official.

Police have not yet issued an official statement regarding the incident or confirmed whether an FIR has been registered. The episode has transformed a civil land dispute into a sensitive administrative and criminal matter, drawing attention to both the grievance redressal process and the need to protect public officials from unlawful intimidation.