The Himachal Pradesh Kisan Sabha on Friday extended support to the aggrieved farmers of Gatoli village in Bhojnagar after violence allegedly erupted over a land dispute between an investor and local residents.

The issue has snowballed into a major controversy, with villagers accusing the authorities of failing to resolve a dispute that has persisted for several years. Raising questions over the delayed police response, Himachal Pradesh Kisan Sabha district vice-president Nitish Thakur told Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma that despite informing the Bhojnagar police hours in advance, they failed to reach the spot in time. He alleged that associates of the investor, armed with sticks, intimidated the villagers and assaulted an aggrieved farmer.

Alleging encroachment on private land despite a court stay, residents claimed they had been facing hardship ever since the investor purchased land in the village in 2019-20. They alleged that dumping of muck on private land and excessive groundwater extraction had damaged their fields and dried up local water sources.

The villagers further alleged that whenever they opposed the activities, labourers engaged by the investor attacked them and pelted stones from an under-construction building.

Despite several civil cases pending before the court and repeated complaints to the Bhojnagar panchayat and police, the residents alleged that they had failed to get justice.

Deputy Commissioner Manmohan Sharma said the SDM, Kasauli, had been directed to hear both parties and work towards an amicable resolution.

Solan SP Sai Dattatreya Varma assured the villagers that another police officer would be assigned to investigate the case, acknowledging complaints regarding the delayed response by the Bhojnagar police.

The Himachal Pradesh Kisan Sabha announced that it would convene a mahapanchayat at Bhojnagar on July 26 to decide its future course of action if the authorities failed to address the villagers’ grievances.