Anti-land mafia activist shot dead

Mumbai: RTI and anti-encroachment activist Bhupendra Vira was shot dead at his Santa Cruz (East) residence late on Saturday night. His wife, Ranjana, initially assumed he had bled from a fall off his chair as no gunshot sound was heard.
Vira, 61, had a property dispute with a former corporator and had received a number of threats from him. He was given police protection briefly as he fought to obtain demolition orders from the BMC against several unauthorised constructions in Kalina, including some put up by the former corporator.
Enraged activists from across the western suburbs organised a meeting on Sunday morning and have decided to submit a mass representation to the police commissioner. “We are quizzing the former corporator and five of his sons in connection with the murder,” an IPS officer told TOI.
A retired businessman, Vira lived with his wife on the ground floor of a chawl in Kalina. He was watching television between 9.30pm and 10pm on Saturday, while Ranjana wife was in the washroom changing into her night clothes. “When she came to the living room to check on her husband, she was shocked to see him slumped on the floor, his head covered in blood. She immediately tried to stop the flow of blood with her dupatta,” their daughter-in-law Sheela told TOI.
Vira was still breathing at that point. Ranjana informed her daughter, Khushboo, and son-in-law, Sudhir, besides neighbours. At the hospital, it was confirmed that Vira had been shot in the head. The police later recovered an empty cartridge from his house.
“It was initially reported to us that Vira had a fall from his chair. But doctors at the hospital found a bullet entry wound on his right temple and an exit wound on the left. The door to the room where the couple lived was partially open. There’s also a large window and the killer could have fired a round from either through the door or the window,” a police official said.
Vira’s family suspects the involvement of a professional and the possibility of a silencer being used on the gun. “My mother-in-law had heard a tiny sound and was taken aback to find blood splattered everywhere. Most neighbours were indoors and we do not know how many attackers were there or if they used a getaway vehicle,” said Sheela. Activists said there were no cameras in the immediate vicinity.
“Vira had complained to the Lokayukt about unauthorised constructions,” confirmed Prashant Gaikwad, ward officer of H/East Ward. “Pursuant to the Lokayukt's orders, we had issued notices to those structures that were illegal. Some of them went to court. The process was ongoing and some demolitions had already taken place,” he said.
According to Kalina-based activists, four demolition notices had been issued by the BMC on Saturday itself. “Vira was very pleased about it when we met on Saturday afternoon. The demolitions were to take place on October 21. Vira’s fight was not restricted to the former corporator but to all land mafia in Kalina,” said Clarence Pinto from the Voice of Kalina ALM.
Pinto added that everytime Vira received a threat, he would register a non-cognizable complaint with the Vakola police. “He was meticulous about the paperwork. Four years ago, his older son was attacked and a separate criminal case is going on in that matter,” said Pinto. Vira’s older son, Mayur, and daughter-in-law Sheela live in Goa while his younger son is based in Bangalore.
“Vira was a very simple man. Ironically, the police had issued him a warning to not disturb the peace in the locality,” said Pinto. Another ALM member, Reggie Dias, said the BMC often gave out names of activists to the parties they had complained against, putting them in trouble. “Earlier, the police used to give us protection without charging us for it, but that’s not happening anymore. We are vulnerable and have to broadcast our whereabouts to our colleagues and family members all the time,” said Khar-based activist Aftab Siddique.