A bulldozer demolished structures near the mosque in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri that was at the centre of the communal clash during a Hanuman Jayanti rally on Saturday. The demolition was done despite the Supreme Court’s order to halt the anti-encroachment drive in the area.
The top court had ordered a status quo on the eviction drive in the area, which is tense after the communal clash during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday. The court has posted the case for urgent hearing on Thursday (April 21).
Officials of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation said that they had yet to receive the court order and would contibue their job of removing illegal structures until they receive the order for which the bulldozers continued to raze shops and other structures despite the court’s stay order.
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According to a NDTV report, nine bulldozers sent by the civic body rolled into the locality and started razing shops and other structures on Wednesday morning amid heavy police presence to prevent any law and order situation.
The anti-encroachment exercise was ordered after Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the mayor, asking him to identify illegal constructions by "rioters" and demolish them, the report stated.
While the mayor termed it a "routine exercise", the timing of the order, especially since it came after the BJP's chief letter, prompted questions regarding political motives.
Ahead of the eviction drive, Special Commissioner of Police Dependra Pathak and other senior officers took stock of the area. The civic body had yesterday sought a force of at least 400 police personnel for the two-day anti-encroachment drive.
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