After it was proved that she also traded in land deals and sought favours from the same bunch of politicians whom she accused of being corrupti, India Against Corruption (IAC) activist Anjali Damania has landed in fresh controversy.

While a three-member self appointed panel of IAC jurists will announce verdict whether Damania did anything wrong in the land deal, it has come to light that she blocked the passage to the lone crematorium in Kondivade village in Karjat tehshil. Villagers accused her of putting up a permanent barbed wire fence on the straight road leading to the crematorium on the banks of Ulhas river. This forced the hapless villagers to walk two kilometers extra to perform the last rites.

“We have no choice now but to carry the dead body on our shoulders for 2km compared to the half kilometres earlier. Anjali Damania has blocked the road to the crematorium by erecting a barbed wire fence. We asked her to keep the pathway which leads to the crematorium open, but she refused,” Charabhai Sonawane complained to the media.

A village with a population of 500 has been using the crematorium for decades. It was this village Kondivade where Damania allegedly bought 60 acres of farm land there on an invalid farmer certificate, pretending herself as a farmer. Then she tried to get the land use changed and sold the major part to land developers making a profit of 30 times the price.

Villagers complained that they had to travel a fair distance to fetch water because of the barbed wire fence. “When she bought land in our village, she promised to leave the traditional passage open. She is now backtracking,” said Alka Chavan, 42.

A retired headmaster Baban Gaikwad complained that Damania has created problems for the villagers by blocking the pathway to the river. “We heard that the government has seized her property. It should also drive away people who bought villages in Alpine Village, a project of SVV Developers of which Damania is a director. The land belongs to tribals and it should be returned to them,” he said.

Damania is unfazed by the allegations. She said it would be difficult to leave a passage to the crematorium for villagers. “If that is done, no one will buy the developed land,” she said. She retorted that she will not allow people to question her integrity.

But the big question is if allegations are levelled against politicians, ministers and people holding responsible positions in the government and parties and the IAC demands their resignations first, why the IAC does not suspend these activists’ pending inquiry. Inquiry should be conducted not by their own selected panel but by an independent panel agreeable to his detractors also. 

Secondly, why is Arvind Kejriwal soft on Damania who has been prima facie found guilty of dealing in the same land business?