Shops bulldozed in Jahangirpuri; Supreme Court steps in to stop demolition

New Delhi: Bulldozers rolled into troubled Jahangirpuri on Wednesday morning and tore down several concrete and temporary structures close to a mosque as part of an anti-encroachment drive by the BJP-ruled civic body, days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by communal violence. The Supreme Court had to intervene twice to stop the drive after it took cognizance of a petition filed by Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind against the demolition.

The area was teeming with hundreds of policemen, including anti-riot contingents, as the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) launched the operation against encroachers. In less than two hours, several shops and businesses were pulled down amid scenes of chaos, with many owners insisting their establishments had the sanction of the Delhi Development Authority and the local civic body. Politics erupted over the demolition drive, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi calling it "State-sponsored targeting of poor and minorities".

CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat, who visited the area with the court order to stop the NDMC action, was livid. "The Supreme Court ordered status quo at 10:45 am. Our lawyers Kapil Sibal and Dushyant Dave mentioned it before the court. I have come to stop this demolition....to stop the authorities from tearing the Supreme Court order to shreds (dhajjiyan udane se rokne aayi hoon)," she said. Some distraught women sat on the road, wailing, as bulldozers smashed to the ground several shops and roadside kiosks.

Streets were littered with concrete slabs and bricks, but there were no violent protests. Shop owners, whose establishments were demolished, claimed the NDMC launched the encroachment drive without giving prior notice to them. "If you (authorities) want to punish, then punish the accused who have been arrested. Why are you punishing the whole community? People have lost their livelihood," Mohammad Rahman, whose shop was razed, said. Ganesh Gupta, who ran a juice vend, claimed the DDA had allotted the shop in 1977. "I showed them the document but nobody listened to me," he said. The NDMC's action came a day after Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the mayor to identify illegal constructions of the "rioters" in Jahangirpuri and demolish them using bulldozers, raising questions about political intention behind the action.

"Shobha Yatra ka badla liya ja raha hai (it's an act of revenge for what had happened during the Shobha Yatra)," said Sajid Saifi whose electrical repair shop was also razed. According to locals, the anti-encroachment drive continued for an hour and half after the Supreme Court's initial order to stop it and maintain status quo.

A civic body official, requesting anonymity, said the drive continued because of the absence of a written order from the Supreme Court. It was stopped as soon as the order was received, the official added. Senior lawyer Dushyant Dave approached the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana for a second time after an earlier order failed to stop the civic body from continuing with the demolition.

"I am sorry to mention it again...In the morning, I had mentioned the matter. Despite communicating the (stay) order, they (authorities) are not stopping the demolition. They are saying that they have not officially received any communication. "I request you to ask the secretary-general to communicate the order to the police commissioner and the mayor and the commissioner of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC)," Dave said, adding "it will be too late otherwise."

The Supreme Court directed the apex court's Secretary-General to convey the earlier order to stop the demolition immediately.

The bench, in the forenoon, ordered a stay on the drive and agreed to hear the petition challenging the action of the civic body allegedly aimed against the accused in Saturday's communal riots. Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh insisted the drive was stopped after the Supreme Court order.