Ramkrishna Vedanta Ashram monks ‘threatened’ by miscreants

Siliguri: After the Ramakrishna Mission’s land grabbing case, allegations have been raised of Ramkrishna Vedanta Ashram monks being threatened over a school land owned by the ashram at Pradhan Nagar in Siliguri.

According to sources, Ramkrishna Vedanta Ashram has been running three schools in the Pradhan Nagar area, including Margaret Sister Nivedita English School. For a long time, some people had occupied a portion of land belonging to the school. They had blocked the drains while running food stalls there. Earlier, the Ashram committee had requested them to vacate the land several times, but they did not pay heed to this. Finally, the Siliguri Municipal Corporation conducted an evacuation drive against illegal encroachment in the area, removing the stalls. Thereafter, the ashram committee started constructing a boundary wall there. However, the ashram committee and school authorities have alleged that some miscreants who had been running stalls on the land had threatened them and asked them to stop the construction work.

They even allegedly used abusive words against them. Soon after the incident, the Ashram committee lodged an FIR at Pradhan Nagar police station. “They had been doing business by occupying our land and the drain in the area. SMC has removed the encroachment. As the land became empty, we started constructing a boundary wall since we could not allow anyone to enter the school premises. But some miscreants have threatened us and used abusive language,” said Swami Raghabananda Maharaj, Assistant Secretary of Ramkrishna Vedanta Ashram.

Kalyan Kumar Das, Teacher-In-Charge of Margaret Sister Nivedita English school said: “Earlier too, they disturbed the classes. During the Madhyamik and Higher Secondary Examination, section 144 is imposed in schools. During that time also, they used our school gates to transport goods for their stalls.” With the intervention of the Police, the problem has been resolved and the ashram committee is constructing the boundary wall.

Meanwhile, there are allegations regarding 9.90 acres of land belonging to the Ramakrishna Mission in Matigara being grabbed.

Previously land grabbers had attempted to occupy Sewak Bhawan, an ashram belonging to the Ramkrishna Mission on Sevoke Road in Siliguri. Many people have been arrested in connection with the Sewak Bhawan case.