NAGPUR, May 16: The inquiry committee appointed by the Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta to probe the Bastar timber and land scam, which allegedly involves a politician-bureaucrat-timber mafia nexus, has run into rough weather in the first phase of its investigations.

Recently, while the inquiry committee was recording statements of the affected people in an open meeting at the forest house in Kurandi village, supporters of those named in the scam reportedly created a ruckus in the village.

Sharad Mahapatra, an influential landlord from Kurandi, R Kumar, lawyer of MP Forest Minister Shiv Netam and their henchmen have been accused of threatening the villagers with dire consequences if the latter deposed before the inquiry committee.

Pressing the charges, co-ordinator of the National Committee for Protection of Common Land Resources (NCPCLR) S R Hiremath and district convenor of Ekta Parishad Kanker, Bastar Ratneshwar Nath have alleged that an inebriated Kumar even abused members of the district administration and the inquiry committee. He is also reported to have distributed money to villagers who had come to depose before the inquiry committee, ordering them to return home. In a letter to Jagdalpur Collector Praveer Krishna, Nath has requested him to provide adequate protection to the tribals and help create a ``fearless atmosphere'' so that the legal process can proceed.

Meanwhile, the inquiry committee has completed its fieldwork for the first phase of the probe. Statements have been recorded from people of Kurandi, Markel, Badegudara, Kanker, Dongarkatta and Kotholi villages.

In Kurandi, tribal land was reportedly bought by Sharad Mahapatra and Virendra Netam, brother of Shiv Netam. Virendra was also said to have bought land from 15 tribal families in Badegudara village. In Markel, statements of people were recorded with regard to purchase of 81 acres of non-saleable patta land from Harijans by the influential Lunia family.

In the second phase of the inquiry, scheduled to begin next week, the committee is scheduled to probe the Malik Makbuja cases of the past three years, which led to the illegal felling of trees on forest and tribal lands.

Former Bastar district collector Rajgopal Naidu, who was responsible for exposing the timber scam in the district last year, will be called as a witness by the committee.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.