Protest over DDA’s demolition of illegal religious structure

NEW DELHI - The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished an illegal religious structure in south Delhi’s Jangpura area Wednesday morning, sparking violent protests by members of a community against whom police used force and tear gas, an official said.

More than 1,000 protesters gathered outside Hazrat Nizamuddin police station and in Jangpura area and blocked roads demanding the reconstruction of the illegal structure whose demolition began at 6 a.m.

They tried to enter the illegal religious structure and pelted stones at police who used force and lobbed teargas shells.

“They gathered outside the police station and marched towards the demolition spot. They were prevented from approaching the spot, following which they broke the barricades and tried to enter the premises situated in Block B of Jangpura,” a senior police official said.

“We had to resort to lobbing teargas shells and using some force,” he said.

The protesters alleged some of the them were injured in police action. Samshad Khan, a 45-year-old cook, received two fractures and was rushed to hospital. “They hit me,” Khan told IANS.

The agitation continued in the evening with angry protesters offering prayers on roads outside the police station. All shops in the area were closed.

“We will not move from here until and unless, the government rebuilds it,” 29-year-old Abdul Majid, who runs a grocery store, told IANS.

The protesters found support from politicians. “We strictly demand the rebuilding of the structure,” said Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India-Marxist.

Parvez Hashmi, Congress party’s Rajya Sabha MP from Delhi, visited the site and said: “Whoever has done this mistake will be punished.”

DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar said: “We have all the clearances to demolish the religious structure. Last year, we had tried four times in the month of February, March, May and September but due to inadequate police force we could not carry out the demolition.”

“The court gave us an order for demolition of the illegal construction on DDA land,” Dhar said.

“A slum and this structure had come up on DDA land. We had cleared the slums earlier but did not touch the structure as we needed a clearance from the committee looking into demolition of such structures,” she added.