Land grabber in police net for destroying Trigonometry Survey observatory in Bengaluru | Bengaluru News
BENGALURU: The mystery shrouding the destruction of the Trigonometry Survey Observatory building, one of the historical markstones of the city at Bidarahalli (off Hennur-Bagalur Road), has been unravelled with the arrest of a law graduate-turned-land grabber.
The arrested is Ganesh MN, a resident of Basaveshwaranagar. Preliminary investigations revealed that he had eyed the property assuming that it was like any other piece of land that the govt was not aware it existed.He allegedly fabricated documents to stake a claim on the land before undertaking the demolition of the observatory, the last standing building of the Great Trigonometrical Survey conducted by the British to develop a map of India.
On June 2, residents of Bidarahalli woke to the shocking news that the observatory building was demolished at the instruction of an individual. The heritage building dated back to 1868 when British colonel William Lambton proposed an ambitious ‘Mathematical and Geographical Survey’ to accurately map India and help determine Earth’s exact shape. The project was later called the Great Trigonometrical Survey and the building was constructed in 1868. It was the sole surviving GTS observatory in Bengaluru. Neglected by the Archaeological Survey of India and the state govt, the building was restored by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) in 2021.
However, the unsecured property became the target of land grabbers. According to investigations, Ganesh had eyed it for a long time and decided to encroach upon it after the archaeological department said the property did not belong to it.
“First, he approached the archaeological department by applying under Right To Information, seeking to know whether the property belonged to it. The department replied saying the property does not belong to it,” the investigation revealed. Then, Ganesh forged documents, showing that the property was transferred to him by a person in 1981.
“Ganesh worked methodically on this document. First, he produced documents showing that the 7 gunta land belonged to one Raghuram who lived there in 1970. Then, Raghuram gifted the land to his father and Raghuram’s father transferred the property to Ganesh’s name through a will in the year 1981,” an investigating officer said.
After arming himself with these documents, Ganesh approached a private firm renting out earthmovers and hired a JCB machine to demolish the property. Neither the firm officials nor the JCB operator knew that Ganesh had forged the documents. As instructed by Ganesh, the JCB operator promptly demolished the structure. Now, police have seized the JCB.
