DISPUTE OVER GRAVEYARD

DISPUTE OVER GRAVEYARD

22-OCT-ENG 9

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA---------------------------A dispute has emerged regarding the burial of a body at the 'Shivnarayani Mat' graveyard, located in Ward 01 of the Shahpur Nagar Panchayat. Following the passing of Rajeshwar Ram (son of the late Bajrangi Ram), a resident of Ward 04, an objection was raised concerning the ownership of the land where his burial was intended to take place, leading to a tense situation at the site.

According to the information received, Gopal Ram (son of the late Sukhdev Ram) claimed that the graveyard land is registered in the name of his ancestors in the official land records (*khatiyan*). Asserting that the land belongs to him, he objected to the burial of Rajeshwar Ram and attempted to halt the proceedings.

Members of the 'Mahadalit' community present at the scene tried to reason with Gopal Ram, but the dispute could not be resolved immediately. Local residents state that even if 'Shivnarayani Mat' was an ancestor of Gopal Ram, he had gifted this land to the community. Since then, hundreds of bodies have been laid to rest at this site.

Members of the Mahadalit community emphasized that the remains of their own ancestors are also buried in this graveyard, and the site holds deep sentimental value for them. They strongly contested Gopal Ram’s assertion that the land is his private property.

The Mahadalit community members noted that a similar dispute over this graveyard land had occurred back in the 1980s. At that time, the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Ara had intervened to resolve the matter. Furthermore, on January 23, 2009, the Shahpur Nagar Panchayat passed a resolution to construct a boundary wall around the graveyard.

Following reports of the dispute, a 'Dial-112' emergency response team arrived at the scene, where they were briefed on the situation by those present. Following a commendable initiative by the Dial-112 team, members of the Mahadalit community buried the body of Rajeshwar Ram in the graveyard. The situation is currently reported to be normal.