Despite multiple FIRs and court orders, repeated attempts made to usurp school property; NRI alleges police inaction
An NRI based in Canada has raised serious concerns over the alleged inaction of Punjab police after repeated attempts were made to grab the land of a private school owned by his family near Amritsar. Amandeep Singh, the owner of Lake Head Public School, expressed dismay that even though FIRs have been filed, the names of suspects identified by him were not included in the case, reported tribuneindia.com.
The incident marks the fourth attempt by accused individuals to illegally seize the school property, despite previous FIRs and a court order to maintain status quo.
According to Singh, while the Chheharta police did register an FIR after the school’s boundary wall was demolished, the case did not name those he had identified in his formal complaint. “Our NRI minister holds online meetings with Punjabi NRIs to hear our grievances, but our pleas continue to fall on deaf ears,” he said.
Shivalika Dhillon, the school’s principal and co-owner, noted that multiple people damaged the school’s playground boundary wall in a bid to encroach on the land. She claimed the accused demolished the boundary wall twice in two days, calling it the fourth such attempt.
The first FIR was lodged by the NRI police on September 14, 2024, against Hardayal Singh Pandori, Lalli Kabal Singh of Kohali village, Manjit Singh Hansowala of Hansowala village in Khadoor Sahib, and other unnamed persons. A second FIR was filed on November 4, 2024, naming Sukhjit Singh of Kohali village and unknown associates.
Amandeep Singh has sought direct intervention from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Director General of Police (DGP), alleging that the accused are fabricating land records to grab his ancestral property.
He also recalled that the school was established nearly four decades ago by his father, Dr Avtar Singh, a former professor at Khalsa College, after returning from Canada in the 1980s to provide quality education to underprivileged children in rural Punjab. Dr Singh passed away two years ago, and the family has been fighting to protect the institution’s legacy ever since.
