Padma awardee Jodhaiya Baiga harassed over house construction under PMAY; 4 held

Padma Shri awardee Jodhaiya Baiga (93) and her family members were allegedly harassed four men of a village who did not allow them to construct their house in Lodha village of Umaria drict in Madhya Pradesh, police said. A renowned Baiga painter, Jodhaiya Bai was living in a kutcha house with her grandson. (ANI file photo) A renowned Baiga painter, Jodhaiya Bai was living in a kutcha house with her grandson. Also Read: Paintings of 80-year-old Madhya Pradesh woman on exhibit in Italy She was conferred Padma Shri in January this year and had raised the issue about not having a house with Prime Miner Narendra Modi after which the state government allocated money for construction of a house for her under the Prime Miner Awas Yojna (PMAY). According to police on Monday, Jitendra Singh, Sanju Yadav, Mrigendra Singh and Rajesh stopped the construction and claimed that the land belonged to them. “The accused beat her family members and abused her too. Jodhaiya Bai and her grandson filed a complaint with collector KD Tripathi and superintendent of police Pramod Sinha,” said Nagendra Singh, sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP), Umaria. Police filed an FIR (first information report) against the accused under section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 294 (using obscene language) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) at Kotwali police station on June 26. The accused were arrested and released on bail, said SDOP. Jodhaiya Baiga, who had sought security fearing threat to her life, said, “The land belongs to the government and was provided the adminration, but the accused are claiming that it belongs to them. My grandson was beaten up them. They threatened us with dire consequences.” SDOP Nagendra Singh said that the police are investigating the matter. ABOUT THE AUTHOR She is a senior reporter based at Bhopal. She covers higher education, social issues, youth affairs, woman and child development related issues, sports and business & industries. …view detail