MEERUT, Sept. 6 -- The district administration in Sambhal on Saturday deployed bulldozers at the orchard of Samajwadi Party MLA Iqbal Mahmood after finding encroachment on about 3.5 bighas of government land, officials said.

The drive, led by the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and tehsil administration, followed complaints of illegal occupation. Measurements were carried out in the presence of police before the land was reclaimed.

SDM Vikas Chandra said demarcation revealed that while two plots (Gata numbers 198 and 222) were registered in the names of Mahmood and his family members, four adjoining government plots -- Gata numbers 221-K (barren), 221-Kh (canal), 271 and 272 (drain) -- had been erased and merged into the orchard. "The r...