Bhopal: The State government has decided to put in place Recovery of Damages to Public and Private Property Act (Niji Lok Parisampatti Nuksan Nivaran evam Vasooli Adhininiyam) to penalise rioters including stone pelters who damage government and private properties during agitations or otherwise. “Rioters and stone pelters will not be spared,” said home minister Narottam Mishra while sharing information regarding government’s decision with media here on Wednesday.
A claim tribunal will be set up under the Act to recover penalty amount from stone pelters and others who damage government and private properties. “The tribunal will be set up looking into the place of incident. If something has happened in Gwalior, Jabalpur or Indore, the tribunal will function over there. The tribunal will comprise retired officials of DG, IG (police) and secretary ranks. The tribunal will have powers of a civil court,” Mishra said. In case any damage was caused to a public property, the district collector will inform tribunal about it. In case of private property, the person concerned will act similarly. To recover penalty amount, the tribunal will have the powers like those vested under Land Revenue Act. The tribunal will dispose of cases within a month and will be responsible for getting penalty realised from accused and given the same to person whose property has been damaged. Any appeal against the tribunal decision can be filed in High Court, according to the minister. Following incidents of stone pelting reported in Indore and other places, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in January had announced to enact a strict law to deal with stone pelters who damage public and private properties in the state.“Stone pelters are enemies of society. Their crime is not minor, which may result in a stampede and cause loss of life. They create atmosphere of fear and terror in society. They will not be spared,” he had said. UP govt passed a bill in the assembly in March as per which rioters and stone pelters found guilty of damaging govt and private properties may face imprisonment up to one year and fine from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
