Bhubaneswar, May 9: The booming real estate business and the growing demand for land has led to proliferation of crime in the capital.

On April 27, a land dispute between two families in Bankuala area near Tankapani Road in the city took a violent turn with four women sustaining injuries in attacks and a house being set on fire. Sahid Nagar police arrested five persons in connection with the violence.

Police said the violence was the fallout of a dispute between the families of Dhudia Bhanja and Shyam Bhanja over a plot of land.

Similarly, on March 21 the Mancheswar police arrested three persons sent by a builder from Bhotapada village on the outskirts of the city for allegedly attacking a family. Three members of the family, including a woman, sustained injuries. Police also seized two cars, two motorcycles and three daggers from the attackers.

Police said the builder had claimed to purchase the land from the family and to get its physical possession he had sent the men. However, the family members said they had not sold the entire land. Rather they were forced to sell a part of it to the builder.

There are several instances where poor villagers had to face the wrath of greedy builders and land mafia. The villagers said that as the city has started growing with many multinational companies and corporate houses setting up their branches here, the demand for land has gone up and people have to face the consequences.

“Ten years ago when we were trying to sell our land there were hardly any buyers, but now people come to us every day to persuade us to sell our land. Mostly the builders lure us to sell our land to them,” said Jyoti Prakash Baral, a resident of Kalarahang area on the outskirts of the city.

Even the villagers alleged that they had to face many kinds of frauds and violence instigated by the outsiders to get their land. “They come to us and try all their tricks on us to grab our land. When we refuse them, they either threaten us or instigate people with vested interests to quarrel with us. Some times the disputes turn violent and we have to suffer,” said Sabyasachi Bhanja of Bankuala village.

The police also admit that these kinds of incidents are on the rise. According to a senior police officer, land disputes are becoming frequent with two or three cases being registered at the police stations almost daily.

Most of the cases come from villages with the villagers alleging builders of land-grabbing or their own people harassing them for their land.

The growing land rates in the city prompt several people to enter the real estate business. These people try hard and use every trick to grab land from the villagers. As the land rate on the outskirts of the city is comparatively lower than the central part, the builders eye those lands. “When they do not get the land easily, they create problems for us,” said Basant Nayak, a resident of Palasuni area.