NDMC carries out a one-sided anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri following communal violence

“Without any notice you have bulldozed a shrine and the Masjid. Why? If this is not from a feeling of vengeance then what is it?” Abu Naushad, a resident of Delhi’s Jahangirpuri locality, said. On 20 April, four days after a communal clash between Hindus and Muslims in the area, the BJP-led NDMC carried out an anti-encroachment drive, without any notice, in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood in Jahangirpuri.

The drive did not extend to nearby Hindu neighborhoods. The exercise began at 10.15 am. The Supreme Court ordered a stay on the drive at 11 am. However, the demolition continued for nearly three hours after that. Close to a hundred permanent and temporary structures including homes, small businesses and places of worship were affected.