THANE: Around 160 villagers hailing from Bhandarli and Gotheghar villages have been booked for forcibly entering and occupying tenements constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, administered by Mhada.Bhandarali, situated around 20km ahead of Daighar and adjacent to Navi Mumbai, became the center of the controversy. A senior police officer said that based on a complaint by the developer responsible for building these structures, the Daighar police have initiated legal proceedings, invoking various sections of the Indian Penal Code.More than a dozen individuals from the mob have already been identified in connection with the incident.According to the police, the mob forcefully entered three buildings, broke locks securing 400 flats, and attempted to occupy them unlawfully. The police referenced the FIR, which indicated that the villagers have long opposed the project developed by the Konkan Housing Development Board within their village under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, striving to obstruct its progress.A police officer stated, "The villagers claim that the project is encroaching on their land, and they assert that the developer has also caused damage to important sites on the land in question."In the past, the villagers had prominently displayed banners voicing their opposition to the project and declared their intent to forcibly enter the houses by breaking locks and taking possession on November 07, 2023, an action they indeed carried out on Tuesday.As the investigation unfolds, no arrests have been made thus far in this case.

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