Haldwani, April 27 -- Udham Singh Nagar district magistrate has ordered an inquiry into allegations that the son of BJP MLA Arvind Pandey encroached on land owned by Scheduled Tribe (ST) community members-a claim the MLA called a political conspiracy ahead of elections. A four-member committee will investigate the matter and submit its report within 15 days, officials said. Udham Singh Nagar district magistrate Nitin Singh Bhadauria said Nanni Devi, wife of late Tula Singh, and Sanju and Mangal Singh, sons of late Tula Singh-all residents of Saimalpuri village in Bazpur-submitted a complaint alleging irregularities in land records and illegal transfer of tribal land. The complainants stated they own two plots-1.154 hectares and 0.379 hectares-in Saimalpuri village. They alleged that Atul Kumar, son of MLA Arvind Pandey, filed a suit over the land in 2010-11 under Section 229-B of the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act. Bhadauria said the complainants alleged that 1.274 hectares was wrongly recorded in Atul Kumar's name-a Bazpur resident-apparently on the basis of forged documents. The land belongs to members of the Buksa Scheduled Tribe, and rules bar its transfer to a general-category person, the complainants claimed. Despite a court decision reportedly in their favour, they have not gained possession and continue to face harassment, officials said. "Taking cognisance of the complaint, a four-member committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of additional district magistrate (ADM) Kaustubh Mishra to investigate the matter," Bhadauria said. The panel includes the ADM, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Bazpur, settlement officer consolidation, and district minority welfare officer. "The committee has been directed to conduct a thorough inquiry into the allegations and submit a detailed report with clear findings to the district magistrate's office within 15 days," the district magistrate added. MLA Arvind Pandey told local media that in 2023, the Kumaon Commissioner had issued orders to register the land in the name of the Buxa tribe and claimed that since then, these orders have not been complied with. "For political reasons, certain individuals obstructed the implementation of the Commissioner's orders and prevented the names from being added to the land records (Khatoni). I personally sat at the Tehsil office to ensure the names were added. I do not wish to discuss how this land subsequently came to be registered in the name of my son, Atul. A conspiracy is being hatched to tarnish my political image ahead of the elections. Now that the District Magistrate (DM) has constituted an inquiry committee, everything will become clear once the investigation is complete," he said. htc...