Representational.
Nagpur: Despite the Supreme Court order that properties belonging to the accused shall not be demolished illegally, Maharashtra civic authorities demolished the house of Fahim Khan, who is a prime accused in Nagpur violence. Khan’s two-storey house was razed on Monday morning, alleging unauthorised construction, in the presence of heavy police security, PTI reported.
Khan, a leader of the Minority Democratic Party (MDP), has been booked under the accusation of sedition. He is among the over 100 persons arrested for the violence in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on March 17.
A few days back, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation issued a notice to Khan, claiming various lapses and a lack of approval for the building plan (for his house).
At around 10.30 am on Monday, three JCB machines of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation started demolishing the house located at Sanjay Bagh Colony in the Yashodhara Nagar area here, amid heavy security and drone surveillance in the entire area.
The area where the demolition work was being done was completely barricaded.
The house, registered in the name of Khan's mother, was located on a plot of Nagpur Improvement Trust (Lease), and the lease ended in 2020, a civic source said.
There was no sanction plan for the building, and the entire construction was unauthorised, authorities claimed, adding that the action was being taken under the MRTP Act.
MDP city chief Khan is currently lodged in a jail.
The violence erupted in Nagpur on March 17 after rumours spread that a ‘chadar' with religious inscriptions had been burnt during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanding the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The clashes resulted in widespread stone-pelting and arson across several parts of the city, leaving 33 police personnel, including three Deputy Commissioner of Police-rank officers, injured.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Saturday that the cost of properties damaged during the violence would be recovered from rioters, and the failure to pay up would lead to the seizure and selling of their properties to recover losses.
The CM said those who circulated inflammatory content would be charged as co-accused for their role in inciting violence.