Desperate calls of occupants ignored; woeful scenes during Jahangirpuri demolitions

New Delhi: Housewives in Jahangirpuri had a sorry tale to tell as witnesses to their own huts and flats being razed to the ground by bulldozers brought in by authorities, despite a Supreme Court stay on the demolition operation. The scenes of a housewife begging in front of the oncoming machines, who rushed in without even warning and smashed even the household items, became a direct picture of the state terror in Jahangirpuri. 'The Quint' associate editor Ishwar Ranjana's moving footage has been circulating on social media.

The evacuation was resumed today under the leadership of BJP-ruled North Delhi Corporation officials in Jahangirpuri, where clashes had broken out between two communities on April 16 on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti. The operation was conducted with the explanation that they were encroachments and unauthorised structures, but most observers have criticised it as an action target the assets of minorities alone. Authorities said the evacuation was in response to encroachments. With the help of the Delhi Police, they started demolishing the colonies inhabited by Bengali Muslims.

Corporation officials did not pull back the bulldozers even after the Supreme Court ordered the suspension of the evacuation forthwith. Thus the eviction continued, challenging even the judicial system, when officials said that they did not receive the court order. The corporation mayor said the action would be stopped only if a court order was delivered to them. The apex court directed that the order be made available as soon as possible.

Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta had written to the Corporation asking it to demolish the illegal buildings of the rioters in Jahangirpuri. The aim was to put the blame of the trouble entirely on alleged immigrants and portray them as the source of the problem in the context of the conflict. Wednesday morning, Special Commissioner of Police Deependra Pathak and top officials assessed the situation. It was then that the two-day evacuation process began with extensive preparation as reflected in the deployment of 400 police personnel to avert any obstructions.