'Khosla Ka Ghosla' bungalow lands in property row

New Delhi, Feb 2 (IANS) In a quirky turn of events, the very bungalow in Delhi where the hit Hindi film 'Khosla Ka Ghosla', based on the capital's land mafia, was shot is now embroiled in a real life property drama.

The bungalow located at 14, Jamuna Road in north Delhi's Civil Lines area belongs to former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Brij Raj Bahadur.

In an uncanny recall to the Anupam Kher starrer about a middle class man's bout with real estate sharks, Bahadur, 80, is locked in a legal battle with his neighbour - with allegations of trespass, breaking down a boundary wall, threats - flying thick and fast.

The trouble started when property dealer Pradeep Garg bought the neighbouring plot of land from one of Bahadur's relatives, many of whom own houses in the locality. Bahadur's house was separated from the adjacent house by a narrow lane, which he claims was carved out of his property.

He has accused Garg of trespassing on his premises by breaking down the boundary wall, which was built on Bahadur's property, and fixing a gate to the lane.

Bahadur told IANS: 'We were quite happy when the proposal of shooting the film was given to us, but I never imagined that the story would be repeated in our lives this way.'

'My entire family used to live in adjacent bungalows and we had marked a narrow lane to connect our houses,' he said.

According to Bahadur, since the lane was carved out of his personal land, it could not be termed public land.

He alleged that Garg and his family had almost closed down the main access to their own bungalow and were using the illegal gate to enter and exit.

Bahadur has also alleged that his neighbour had given shelter to miscreants who carried iron roads and axes and used his compound as thoroughfare.

He maintains that Garg has built 26 flats on the land, which is an illegal construction. He said there was a sealing order against the property, but no action has been taken yet.

'My ancestors were living in this locality for the last 500 years and all the bungalows around our house are owned by our relatives. We had created the service lane to commute among ourselves, but after the Gargs broke the wall and made the gate they have started entering my compound,' he said.

He added that no government report of the locality has mentioned a lane. 'It has always been a part of my property'.

Bahadur's daughter Rachna is handling the legal battle. 'Police are not doing anything to help us out in re-building the wall that was broken down by Garg. We have approached the local cops many times but had to come away empty-handed.'

(Kanu Sarda can be contacted at [email protected])