JALANDHAR – A decade after a Non-Resident Indian (NRI) couple of Mehrumpur village, Nawanshahr, gifted plots to needy villagers in the presence of then Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and other senior leaders, the duo have sold the them to someone else. These allegations were levelled by “beneficiaries”, who have now filed a complaint with the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Nawanshahr.
However, the NRI couple, while justifying the sale of plots, asserted that they were the legal owners of the plots and they had the right to sell them.
Brothers Harbhajan Lal and Sohan Lal told The Tribune, “In 2004, NRI Milkha Singh and his wife Harjinder Kaur had gifted 35 plots of five-marla each to needy villagers in the presence of then Deputy Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, then Banga MLA Tarlochan Singh Soondh and then Chief Parliamentary Secretary Gurbinder Singh Atwal. Now they have sold our two plots to Kamlesh Rani of Kot Fatuhi village in Garhshankar.”
When contacted, Kamlesh confirmed that she had bought two plots from the NRI couple. “The plots were legally in the name of the couple, so I can legally purchase the same. Nobody can question my deal,” she alleged.
“The plots were gifted to us in the presence of senior politicians. How can the NRI couple sell the same and now pressurise us to vacate the property?” Harbhajan questioned.
“I also apprised Congress leader Tarlochan Singh Soondh about the sale of the gifted plots, but he didn’t give any satisfactory reply,” Harbhajan said.
Harjinder Kaur said, “We had gifted the plots to 35 needy villagers in 2004, but on the condition that whosoever builds a house on the land, legal possession will be transferred to them. However, Harbhajan and Sohal couldn’t build a house so we sold the same to another person.” She added that ownership was transferred to two persons, who had recently built their house.
