Overview
- About 3.5 bighas were measured and taken back from an orchard registered to Samajwadi Party MLA Nawab Iqbal Mahmood and his sons in Mandlai village.
- SDM Vikas Chandra led the operation with revenue, forest, irrigation, and police teams overseeing measurements and the use of heavy machinery.
- Officials said two family-registered plots bordered four state parcels—Gata 221-K (barren), 221-Kh (canal), 271 and 272 (drain)—that had been erased and merged into the orchard.
- The SDM noted the reclaimed area had been used as part of the orchard for years, though the precise duration of encroachment could not be determined.
- The drive unfolds under recent Supreme Court warnings against high-handed demolitions and follows earlier Sambhal enforcement flashpoints that turned violent, heightening scrutiny of procedure.