Lakshmirani Kunj attacked, burned in apparent property dispute

P.C. Dainik Jagran

Vrindavan, 2017.09.25 (VT): Lakshmirani Kunj, part of Vrindavan’s historic Keshi Ghat, was attacked earlier this week. The current owner of the property Ms. Chandi Duke Heffner was out of the country at the time.

A group of men broke into the Kunj, looting it and burning a portion of the property. The assailants seem to have been targeting the area where files were kept, and a number of important files are reported to have been lost in the fire. The Kunj’s staff members were assaulted. The attackers allegedly prevented staff from feeding and giving water to Ms. Heffner’s animals, and they also ordered her charitable clinic to be shut down.

The harassment continued over the course of several days. One of them reportedly said they would leave the property if Ms. Heffner gave him three crores (30 million) rupees.

The attackers eventually began using bricks to wall off a portion of the Kunj in an apparent effort to take posession of it. At this point, police stepped in and removed the assailants from the premises. Initially it was rumored that hundreds of men assailed the Kunj, while current reports conflict by saying it was either four or twenty men. Two men have been arrested.

The attackers appear to be from Delhi and are trying to assert a claim on the Kunj. They were likely emboldened by the recent death of Ms. Heffner’s friend Mr. KPS Gill. Vrindavan Today has no further information regarding their claim to the property.