The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) today took possession of an 8.8 acre land in Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar amid protest by Akali leaders including former cabinet minister Jagdish Singh Garcha, who claims to be the owner of the plot.

The confrontation continued for over two hours in the afternoon before the boundary wall and three rooms were demolished by the LIT team.

The LIT had acquired the land in 2002 to construct one of its housing schemes but a few persons, including Garcha, moved the High Court claiming ownership of the land. On November 26, 2008, the court gave the verdict in LIT’s favour and asked the land acquisition collector (LAC) to help LIT take the possession of the land. The LIT had also put up a board after taking possession so as to avoid further encroachment.