The Forest Department on Saturday demolished an alleged illegal office linked to suspended youth BJP leader Prakash Paswan at Durgapur Hill, citing encroachment on forest land.
The demolition was carried out in the presence of a magistrate, senior police officials, and forest personnel. Officials said the structure was located inside the Durgapur Reserve Forest and had exceeded the permitted construction area.
Raurkela ACF Gajendra Pal Singh Mathur stated that a notice had been issued earlier, but no one came forward to claim ownership or respond by the August 31 deadline. Acting on the direction of the Raurkela DFO, the department demolished the structure and seized documents and articles found at the site.
Permission had been granted in 2023 for construction over 0.01 decimal of land, but the building allegedly extended to 0.015 decimal, with the excess treated as illegal encroachment. “It was not an office. It was an illegal encroachment in our Durgapur Reserve Forest,” Mathur clarified.
The action comes days after Paswan was arrested by Raurkela Police from Bihar’s Samastipur on August 27 in connection with the Circuit House incident of August 15, where armed criminals were caught with firearms and ammunition. Paswan, accused of sheltering the criminals, is currently lodged in jail.
Authorities had earlier sealed another office allegedly linked to Paswan.
