The accused in the Saharanpur violence case received new show-cause notices regarding their property just after the violent protests.
Saharanpur violence took place after protests were brought out against Nupur Sharma, Spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party on 10th June. The protesters were against her controversial comments regarding Prophet Muhammad.
Prior to today’s notice, the houses of the two accused were already razed with bulldozers. After the violence, 80 people were arrested and put behind bars. They remain there still now as the investigation proceeds.
The show-cause notices were issued by a junior engineer and a helping engineer of the Saharanpur Development Authority (SDA). The notice states that the property of the accused is not legal under Section 14 of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973.
Specifying how the law has been violated, the notice further summons the recipients infront of the SDA. The date of summoning is 24th June, today. The accused families have been asked to present the cause of the illegal construction. If unable to present any, the houses would be forcibly demolished.
Failing to appear in front of the authorities will be taken as a similar response and would lead to the demolition of property as well. The notice was signed by the secretary of SDA.
Similar cases regarding Saharanpur violence accused
There is word that such similar notices have been sent to many more. The exact figure is unknown but the Wire came across two more.
Most of the names on the notices are that of the accused. The same names appear on the First Investigation Report (FIR) filed by the Saharanpur Police station. In the FIR, 31 people are named while all others are unnamed.
The charges filed against them are unlawful assembly, attempt to murder, and rioting. There were 200 to 300 people more other than those 31 who were not identified.
According to The Wire, many of the notices served to the families of the accused were dated 10th June. On the same day, the Saharanpur protests took place. The lawyers and family members claim the notice dates have been purposefully changed “to harass the accused and the families” says the Wire.
Take of the Lawyers
The families of the accused are right now working with the layers to draft an action for their property loss
Some of the lawyers stated, “The notices were created on the 10th, the day that the violence broke out in the city.” They could not confirm the exact number of notices as different people received the notices at different times. “However, 10-15 people have received the notices,” the lawyers confirmed.
The lawyers shared the information that the law mentioned in the notice was instituted in 1991. The irony is, that the properties concerned in the case were built before the formation of SDA.
On this basis, the authorities cannot demolish those properties.
“If the FIR has been filed on the same day, how come show cause notices have been given on the same day? How can notices be generated on the same day as the violence?” said one of the lawyers.
One of the accused families
One of the families of the accused spoke to the Wire. The notice was served to his family about a 50 sq. ft. construction on the ground floor of their house.
The mother of the accused wrote a letter to the SDA regarding the matter. She questioned the matters of the notice and called the move deceitful. The mother also mentioned that the house is not in the name of the accused but in her name. She further writes that the measurement of the area is 50 sq ft and the law mentioned in the notice was not applicable to that area.
According to the parent, it is a conspiracy on the authorities’ part, targeting the protesters of 10th June.
