Clashes during demolitions in S-E Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar
The drive at Kanchan Kunj, which falls within the Madanpur Khadar area near Kalindi Kunj, targeted illegal buildings built close to the Yamuna floodplains
Paras Singh and Hemani Bhandari
NEW DELHI: Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan and five others were arrested on Thursday after local residents protested against a demolition drive in southeast Delhi’s Kanchan Kunj, with some pelting stones at the civic and police officials, who responded with a brief lathi charge, officials and eyewitnesses said.
The drive by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) was the latest in a crackdown across the Capital against illegal setups and construction. The drive at Kanchan Kunj, which falls within the Madanpur Khadar area near Kalindi Kunj, targeted illegal buildings – some multi-storeyed – built close to the Yamuna floodplains.
Deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Esha Pandey said Khan and five others have been arrested on charges of rioting and obstructing public servants from discharging their duty after the demolition party was besieged by protests.
Senior Delhi Police officers denied that protesters were lathi-charged. However, some police personnel deployed at the site confirmed that a brief, mild lathi charge was done to chase protesters away from the demolition site and protect civic staff.
Security personnel initially stopped locals about 100 metres from the site of demolition but as soon as MCD bulldozers reached the area, MLA Khan called up people to reach Kanchan Kunj “to protect houses of poor people,” an officer aware of the matter said, asking not to be named.
After a brief tussle and negotiations to halt the demolition drive with senior police officials, Khan and others sat on a dharna around 12.15pm. Three hours later, those at the sit-in, including Khan, were taken away by police.
“If arresting me can save the houses of poor people, I am willing to get arrested. We have not pushed anyone, pelted any stone, raised any slogan. We are just saying demolition of houses should stop and they are saying we are interrupting official government work. They are vitiating the atmosphere, not us,” Khan said.
According to SDMC officials, four illegal multi-storey buildings were either fully or partially demolished on Thursday. Nobody lived in the buildings. Encroachment removal drives, otherwise a routine function of the municipal corporations, have come under the scanner after the North MCD’S controversial demolition drive in Jahangirpuri on April 20, days after communal clashes were reported from the area. Opposition parties blamed the BJP, which rules the three municipal corporations, for allegedly targeting a particular community, an allegation the party and the civic bodies have denied.
An FIR was also registered against Khan on May 9, when he led protests against SDMC officials during a similar drive in Shaheen Bagh area not far from the spot of Thursday’s demolition. Khan has been charged under sections pertaining to disrupting an official from discharging his duties.
Several Unhcr-recognised Rohingya refugees live in Kanchan Kunj area, but their dwellings were not targeted on Thursday. Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta has been demanding action against Rohingya and Bangladeshi immigrants since the Jahangirpuri demolitions.
Mohammed Saif, owner of one of the demolished buildings, said, “All of my life’s savings are gone, and that too on my birthday. The building had 10 flats and one family was about to move in. Some of the inhabitants on ground floor were removed in the morning. No notice was issued to us. The police and municipal officials took bribes to allow construction. We have purchased this land, and all colonies Delhi have come up like this without any sanction,” Saif said. Mohammed Ameeruddin, an advocate and eyewitness, said that officials earlier assured that only two buildings will be taken down.
“When we asked about a third building being demolished, a senior police official pushed the MLA and his supporters forcefully. Things went out of control following which a lathi charge was ordered and many protesters were injured,” he alleged.
SDMC officials maintained that the buildings came up on public land and notices were not needed. They said the structures were located on Yamuna floodplain O-zone which, according to the Master Plan Delhi-2021, can have no construction. Zone O is spread over 8,070 hectares along the Yamuna in Delhi.
“We are appealing to other people in the area to take down any illegal structures. No unauthorised construction is allowed on Yamuna floodplains,” an SDMC spokesperson said.