Shaheen Bagh faces bulldozer threat as MCD, police arrive for demolition drive

Deputy commissioner of police (South-East) Esha Pandey said, “We are providing security to the civic body for the demolition drive in the Shaheen Bagh area.”

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The Delhi Police had earlier said they would not be able to assist the SDMC in the anti-encroachment drive because of insufficient staff, but after the civic body approached senior officials of the force, South-East District police decided to send their personnel.

On May 5, the anti-demolition drive in the Kalindi Kunj-Jamia Nagar area near Shaheen Bagh was postponed after the Delhi Police informed them that an adequate force was unavailable. They also denied permission for drives in Jasola on April 28 and Okhla on April 29.

In the first phase of the demolition drive, the SDMC razed over half a dozen shops in Tughlakabad earlier this month. Those manning the shops and kiosks claimed they had been running them for years near the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range, and that the SDMC did not give them any prior notice.

While conducting the survey in the area and heading the drive, BJP councillor Rajpal Singh had claimed they had informed shopkeepers and police about the drive before. “These are illegal encroachments and the civic body is only acting against them. We want to clear the streets. It’s a 10-day drive in South and Southeast Delhi. We are not like the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which pushes people to capture spaces illegally and harass others. We have surveyed the area multiple times and are acting as per law,” said Singh.

Sources in the corporation said that while South Delhi Municipal Corporation mayor Mukesh Suryan is willing to conduct a drive, there is resistance from the municipal commissioner. Suryan has the backing of the BJP as party chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the East and South municipal corporations mayors recently to identify and demolish “illegal encroachment” in their jurisdictions, a day after the Jahangirpuri drive, sources said.

Last month, Suryan inspected parts of Jaitpur, Sarita Vihar, and Madanpur Khadar to assess the extent of encroachments. During his visit, Suryan had said a similar exercise and anti-encroachment drive will be undertaken in Shaheen Bagh. “We will run bulldozers in areas where Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have settled and where there are illegal encroachments,” said Suryan. He said the drives would be against illegal encroachments in all areas except where courts have ordered a stay.