Woman climbs 50-ft mobile tower to protest encroachment drive in Madhya Pradesh

A woman climbed a nearly 50-foot-high BSNL mobile tower in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur on Sunday to protest an encroachment removal drive, alleging the administration was targeting her ancestral land without proper demarcation.A woman climbed a nearly 50-foot-high BSNL mobile tower in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur.A woman climbed a nearly 50-foot-high BSNL mobile tower in Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district on Sunday to protest an encroachment removal drive, triggering a day-long standoff with the administration and police.The incident took place in Veerpur, where the administration and police had arrived near the Veerpur tehsil office on Sunday morning to remove encroachments from government land.During the operation, Rama Rawat, wife of Babulal Rawat, climbed the nearby BSNL mobile tower and began protesting against the action. She alleged that the administration was taking action on her ancestral land without first conducting a proper demarcation of her actual land.The woman climbed the tower at around 11 am and remained there until at least 9 pm, prompting a large deployment of administrative and police officials. She insisted that if the land in question belonged to the government, authorities should first demarcate and restore her ancestral land. She also demanded land in exchange for land. The protest created panic among officials, who spent the day trying to persuade her to come down safely. Vijaypur SDM Abhishek Mishra, DSP Headquarters PM Goyal, Tehsildar Virendra Baghel, along with the local patwari, revenue inspector (RI), police personnel from seven police stations, and additional force from the police lines, remained at the spot throughout the day.Officials also held discussions with the woman's family, but no resolution had been reached by late evening. The woman's family submitted an application to the administration and warned that they would stage a protest. They claimed that the family had been cultivating the land for years and alleged that the administration had initiated the action without hearing their side. They reiterated that the authorities should first conduct a demarcation of their ancestral land before proceeding with the encroachment removal drive.Speaking over the phone, police station in-charge Maharaj Singh Baghel said the woman had remained on the tower since morning. He said the administration and police had been continuously trying to convince her and her family, but they were not ready to accept assurances. He added that the administration's priority was to bring the woman down safely.- EndsWith inputs from Khemraj Dubey.Published By: Akshat TrivediPublished On: Jul 19, 2026 23:02 IST