The court has put a “complete stop” on the eviction campaign, and the case will be heard today.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court stopped an anti-encroachment campaign in Delhi’s Jahangirpuri neighborhood, but not before a bulldozer demolished buildings near the mosque that had been the focus of last Saturday’s violence.
The following are the ten most recent developments:
- Based on a petition, the Supreme Court issued an order to stop the demolition of buildings and other structures in the violence-plagued neighborhood and scheduled an urgent hearing for later during the day.
- However, despite the court’s decision, the destruction continued for about two hours after it was stopped. That’s what North Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said. The order hasn’t been sent yet and they’ll keep working to tear down illegal and unapproved buildings until it is.
- Amid rising tensions in the neighborhood, a bulldozer continued to demolish the gates of the mosque and other stores, prompting lawyer Dushyant Dave to file a complaint with the Supreme Court. NV Ramana, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, said that the court’s decision should be told to the government “Immediately.”
- Brinda Karat, a top CPM leader, arrived in the area at the same time with a physical copy of the order in her hands. She said that she stopped the demolition to keep it from getting out of hand.
- According to a statement issued by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, the anti-encroachment campaign was an attempt to clear pedestrian overpasses and roadways to enable traffic and pedestrian movement in the area. It said that “such trespass clearance campaigns on public roadways are done frequently in all wards/zones by North DMC with or without notice under section 321/322-323-325 of the MCD Act, 1957″ and that “prior notification of local police” was given to the police in the statement.
- This morning, nine bulldozers moved into the neighborhood and began demolishing stores and other buildings during a large police presence. When Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta wrote to the city’s mayor, he asked that he found illegal and unapproved buildings built by “rioters” and to get them demolished as quickly as possible.
- Although the mayor called it a “regular exercise,” the timing of the order, particularly given that it came after the BJP’s chief letter, raised concerns about possible political goals.
- In places like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, some groups were targeted with demolitions after religious riots, but others were not. Petitioners told the Supreme Court that this move was in line with the same pattern.
- Residents said that no communication or any kind of notice was given before the operation. The two-day anti-encroachment operation was supposed to start yesterday. The city council had asked for at least 400 police officers to help with that.
- After a Hanuman Jayanti procession that did not have authorization to go beside a mosque created a communal fight on Saturday, police have been patrolling the streets of Jahangirpuri to ensure the community’s safety. A total of nine individuals, including eight police officers, were hurt during the fight, which saw two groups of protesters hurl stones at one another and exchange gunfire.
Published by – Mohit Maurya
Edited by – Aakash Kanti Khumen
