‘Will do it again’: BJP MLA picked up by police for turning up with bulldozer to clear ‘encroachment’
BJP MLA Pradeep Patel, however, said that as soon as he was released, he would demolish the structure, which is part of alleged encroachment on the local temple’s land.
Police on Thursday cordoned off the area in and conducted area domination exercise. (Representational image)
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Two days after BJP MLA Pradeep Patel turned up with a bulldozer to demolish a boundary wall near a temple in Madhya Pradesh’s Mauganj district, triggering a stone-pelting episode after which he was taken into preventive custody, police on Thursday cordoned off the area in and conducted area domination exercise.
Patel, however, said that as soon as he was released, he would demolish the structure, which is part of alleged encroachment on the local temple’s land.
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On November 19, Patel and his supporters turned up with a bulldozer, threatening to evict the residents and remove encroachments from the Mahadevan temple’s land in Devra village, leading to a tense situation in the area. As soon as the JCB moved towards the boundary wall, the people living on the land resorted to stone-pelting, resulting in injuries to around four-five persons, police said.
On Sunday, local leader Santosh Tiwari sat on indefinite fast, demanding the removal of encroachment made on nine acres of land near the temple. Patel and his supporters said a local revenue court had ruled in favour of eviction but that the administration had not complied with the order.
Mauganj District Magistrate Ajay Shrivastava said, “This whole controversy was over the demolition of a boundary wall near the temple. As per the Supreme Court guidelines, a 15-day notice was given. The structure was deemed illegal by the local court and demolition orders were issued. It is important to exercise caution in sensitive cases where two communities are involved.”
On Thursday, Patel, who was taken into preventive custody, managed to speak to the local media.
He said those who had built houses on the premises had already been allotted land elsewhere by local courts, but that the residents still did not leave.
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“I was compelled to remove the encroachment myself. As soon as I am released from here, I will go directly to remove the encroachments, taking 500 people along with me,” Patel said.
Mauganj Additional Superintendent of Police Anurag Pandey told The Indian Express: “The MLA has been taken into preventive custody. I have been at the spot for the past two days and have deputed a police force of around 180 officers to keep the peace. There is encroachment in this area and there are families from Hindu and Muslim communities that live here. The matter is being heard in a local court.”
BJP leader and state minister Lakhan Patel, who was dispatched to speak to the MLA, said: “I met with him. We spoke for around three hours. His only demand is to remove the encroachment.” He also said if there was any evidence for the MLA’s claim that residents of the land shouted “anti-national slogans”, then there would be an investigation.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
