A local farmer in the Ballia district recently caused a significant commotion at the Sadar Tehsil office after taking an unconventional approach to resolving a bureaucratic delay. Naveen Kumar Rai, popularly known as Chuna Rai, decided to dial 112 to summon the police directly to the Tehsil premises after his file went missing for over a month. Rai is known in the region for his eccentric and high-profile civic gestures, ranging from rescuing injured animals on the streets to sending food supplies for soldiers at the border through the District Magistrate, and even offering hay and grain to the DM to pay his security deposit for elections.
A Month-Long Struggle for Files
For the past month and a half, Rai had been making daily trips to the Tehsil office in search of a file related to his land. After hitting a wall of administrative indifference every single day, he reached his breaking point. He insisted that he had immense faith in the police force and believed they would be the only ones capable of tracking down the individuals responsible for the disappearance of his documentation. This move prompted immediate action from the local authorities who had previously failed to address his persistent pleas.
Police Presence Leads to Discovery
The arrival of the police triggered a stir within the office, forcing the entire administration to acknowledge the situation. Rai led the police officers through the Tehsil complex to investigate the location of his file. The pressure from the law enforcement presence ultimately proved effective, and the missing file of the noted farmer was recovered. According to Rai, the sheer cost of pursuing this missing file—including the legal fees for his counsel—forced him to sell one quintal of his wheat harvest. He emphasized that such negligence has been a recurring issue, often requiring administrative action against the responsible officials.
The Farmer's Hardship
Naveen Kumar Rai, a resident of Patkhauli village in the Sukhpura police station area, explained that he is an uneducated laborer and small-scale farmer. He stated that he lacks the capacity for confrontations or physical altercations, which is why he turned to the legal system for justice. He noted that when ordinary people face trouble, they rely on the courts and the police, yet he was left waiting endlessly. He claimed that his file had been processed and dismissed in a single day, but the relevant documentation was kept hidden under a pile of papers.
Allegations Against Tehsil Officials
When inquiring about his case, Rai stated he was met only with empty promises. He alleged that the court official, known as a Peshkar, was responsible for the theft of the file, and he questioned the accountability of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), suggesting their involvement in the administrative failure. Rai expressed that the entire office seems designed to mislead commoners. He highlighted that just ten days prior, he had submitted two applications during a Tehsil Divas event, only for them to be torn up and discarded without any receipt or subsequent action. He lamented that in the current system, only those with connections are heard, while the ordinary farmers are treated with complete indifference.
