Property disputes, matrimonial matters come to fore at NRI milni

Amritsar, September 23: Property disputes, alleged land fraud and matrimonial issues dominated an NRI milni held in Amritsar on Monday, where 75 NRIs from the Majha region, including Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Pathankot and Gurdaspur, presented their grievances to officials and NRI Affairs Minister Dr Ravjot Singh. NRI Ajaib Singh, 75, who moved to the UK around six decades ago, alleged that the girdawari of his 25 acres of land in Gurdaspur’s Dera Baba Nanak, purchased in 2010, had been changed. He claimed that some individuals had made the changes in connivance with revenue officials. He also alleged that his relatives had grabbed his ancestral land in Shahkot village of Jalandhar. NRI Harpal Singh said the person who sold him 25 acres of land in Gurdaspur’s Naushehra Majha Singh in 2021 had died, following which some people forcibly began cultivating the land. He alleged that forged documents had also been prepared. Although he lodged a complaint against nine persons, the police registered a case against only one person, he said. Kanwaljit Kaur, another NRI, alleged that her relatives had denied her a share in the ancestral property, comprising agricultural land and residential plots, after her husband, Navtej Singh, died by suicide in 2004. She claimed that he had taken the extreme step after discovering the alleged fraud. Matrimonial disputes also came up during the meeting. Dinesh Sharma alleged that his brother-in-law, Ankur Sharma, was harassing his sister, Rupali, over dowry. He said the couple, who married in India in January 2024, had subsequently migrated to Australia and had become Australian citizens. Dr Ravjot Singh said Punjabis settled abroad shared a deep bond with their soil, culture and heritage and had brought pride to Punjab and India across the world. He said most complaints received from NRIs related to property disputes, discrepancies in documents and matrimonial matters. The government was coordinating with the departments concerned to resolve their grievances, he added. The minister said he was personally monitoring cases that had remained pending for a long time to ensure appropriate action.