NRI woman accuses AAP MLA Sarvjit Manuke of ‘illegally occupying’ her house in Ludhiana

Amarjit Kaur hails from Lopo village of Nihal Singh Wala sub-division of Moga, but was currently living with her son in Canada.

Contacted, Manuke, however, denied the allegations and stated that she had taken the house in question on rent almost two months ago and since then she has been living there with her family.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Paramjit Singh, 55, the son of complainant Amarjit Kaur, said that his mother and his wife Kuldeep Kaur Dhaliwal had flown down to Punjab on June 5, after a previous complaint in the same matter which was marked to several persons — including the DGP Punjab, Punjab Assembly speaker, Ludhiana rural SSP and the state NRI affairs minister — had fallen on deaf ears.

“My mother had last visited our house in Jagraon in 2020. Since then, she was living with me in Canada. Some months ago, we got to know through some relatives that some illegal occupants had entered our house after breaking its locks. Then we got to know that they have also started renovating our house. When some of our relatives went in to enquire about the matter, they were told that the house now belonged to AAP MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke. They used the MLA’s name to threaten us,” said Paramjit, a truck driver who lives in Toronto.

As per details, in the earlier complaint — sent via mail to Punjab DGP and others on May 29 — Paramjit’s wife Kuldeep Kaur Dhaliwal had submitted, “…our house in Heera Bagh, Jagraon, has been recently taken over by unknown people. They began renovating it without our knowledge or approval. As our family and friends in India checked upon our property, they discovered that some people were living there and claiming the land as their own. They have used Sarvjit Kaur Manuke’s name stating that they are under her protection and that they will not serve any repercussions for unlawfully possessing our house…. Amarjit Kaur has not been to India for a few years due to her declining health.. She previously suffered from a stroke and recently went through a surgery. She has spent her life’s earnings on this house. We are deeply concerned about our safety.”

Paramjit claimed that after his wife and mother reached Punjab on June 5, they decided to file a second complaint in the matter, which was done on June 8 (Thursday). “We have been assured of action being taken. We also have photographs of Manuke and others from her party sitting inside the house,” he said.

Speaking to The Indian Express, MLA Manuke admitted that she had taken the house in question on rent two months back and she has been living there with family. “I had taken it on rent from one Karam Singh who told me that he was the house’s owner. We also have the rent deed. However, now a second party has appeared claiming to be the owner. I have submitted a complaint to the SSP to verify the real owner. I will handover the keys and money to the person who is verified as the owner after the police investigation. I have not encroached or occupied anyone’s house illegally.”

Ludhiana rural SSP, Navneet Singh Bains, said that complaints had been received from both the parties and an inquiry been marked to SP (investigation).

The controversy also caught the eye of the Opposition, with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Friday tweeting, “Punjab Police & CM Bhagwant Mann owe an explanation to Punjabis as to why they are not taking action on the complaint submitted by a Canadian NRI that her house has been illegally occupied by AAP MLA from Jagraon Sarvjit Kaur Manuke. Any further delay in action in the case could result in dangerous repercussions for the entire NRI community.”