Days after a temple priest was thrashed at Adhoni village of Kurukshetra, the district administration on Monday demolished a portion of illegal structures — identified as encroachments on the ‘phirni’ of the village – that were constructed by the accused.

The illegal structure included the boundary walls of a ‘dargah’ and house of accused Pankaj.

On July 9, Pankaj, his wife Manpreet and Indra Ram had thrashed Yogiraj Giri, priest of the village temple.

Pankaj’s house is situated opposite the temple and he had set up a ‘dargah’ dedicated to ‘Nakodar Peer’ at the rear of his house. He claims to be the ‘Sevadar’ of the ‘Peer’.

Pankaj harboured a long-standing grudge against the temple priest and had previously threatened to kill him whenever he stepped out of the temple.

During the demolition, heavy police force was deployed to maintain law and order. As the administration carried out the demolition, the kin of the accused said that the police have already arrested Pankaj, Manpreet and Indra Ram. If it was an anti-encroachment drive, then action should also have been taken on other people’s properties that have encroached upon village land, they said.

Pankaj’s mother, Paramjeet Kaur, said, “The structure was on my land. If it was an anti-encroachment drive, then it shouldn’t be limited to my house only as there are encroachments at several places in the village. The ‘dargah’ shouldn’t have been damaged.”

Similarly, Pankaj’s mother-in-law claimed, “The police have also arrested my daughter but she had not assaulted the priest. I appeal to the police to release my daughter as her three children have been crying for their mother all day.”

SHO Thanesar Sadar police station Randhir Singh said, “An anti-encroachment drive was conducted at the village and as per the request received, police force was deployed. The drive was completed in a peaceful manner. In connection with the assault case, all three people have already been arrested.”

Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO) Thanesar Amit Kumar, who was present as the duty magistrate, said, “With the help of the police, the encroachment has been removed as per the orders and the land was handed over to the village panchayat. There was illegal encroachment on the ‘phirni’ of the village. The main gate and wall of the ‘dargah’ have been demolished. Similarly, the portion of the boundary wall of the house which was on the ‘phirni’ of the village has been damaged.”

“There was a complaint from the village panchayat regarding the encroachment and as per the orders, action was taken. The total length of the encroachment was around 100 ft. There are some more encroachments in the village and the demolition drive will continue in the coming days as well,” he said.

Meanwhile, representatives of the Sadhu Samaj welcomed the action against the accused. They said that violent behaviour with a priest was not acceptable. Sant Sunil Dass, a representative of the Sadhu Samaj, said that a meeting would be held in Kurukshetra on July 15 to decide the future course of action.