Ludhiana: Industrialist booked for alleged encroachment on PSIEC land

The Ludhiana police have registered an FIR against city-based industrialist Tulsi Ram Mishra, a resident of Moti Nagar, for allegedly encroaching upon land owned by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation Limited, a state government undertaking. The case has been registered at Moti Nagar police station under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

The FIR was lodged following a complaint by Harminder Singh, a resident of Basant Avenue. According to the complaint, Mishra is accused of illegally occupying approximately 1,800 square yards of PSIEC land located at the Industrial Focal Point, Phase VII, and using it unauthorisedly for over two decades.

PSIEC, established in 1962 to promote small-scale industries and develop industrial infrastructure across Punjab, owns the land in question. As per the FIR, Mishra purchased a plot in the same industrial focal point in 1999 and allegedly encroached upon the adjoining vacant PSIEC land around 2001. The land lies across a public road from his legally owned plot.

The complainant further alleged that Mishra admitted to the encroachment in several representations made to PSIEC and the Industries Department. He is also stated to have acknowledged the illegal occupation before the Punjab and Haryana high court while filing writ petitions seeking allotment of the encroached land. However, the high court reportedly rejected his plea.

Due to the alleged encroachment, PSIEC claimed it was unable to utilise the land for industrial development, resulting in losses running into crores of rupees.

Mishra is not new to controversy. In 2009, he was the complainant in a high-profile vigilance case that led to the arrest of senior IAS officer V K Janjua for allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹ 2 lakh. The alleged bribe was reportedly linked to a deal involving the transfer of government land adjacent to Mishra’s industrial unit.

Mishra also contested the 2009 Lok Sabha elections on a Samajwadi Party ticket. He has previously served as president of the Ludhiana Focal Point Welfare Association and a state-level association of Punjab’s dyeing units.

Sub-inspector Bhupinder Singh, SHO of Moti Nagar police station, said he was currently on leave and could not comment on the details of the FIR. Mishra was not available for comment despite repeated attempts to contact him.