Indian court stops demolition drive in Muslim area of New Delhi
- Municipal authorities bulldozed extensions of houses that were deemed unauthorised structures along a street in the predominantly Muslim area of the capital
- India’s Supreme Court ruled that a status quo should be maintained for two weeks in North Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area
India’s Supreme Court has stopped the demolition of alleged illegal structures in a neighbourhood of the capital that recently saw religious riots in which nine people including policemen were injured and dozens arrested.
A status quo should be maintained for two weeks in North Delhi’s Jahangirpuri area, the Supreme Court said Thursday, a day after it ordered municipal authorities to stop razing unauthorised structures in the area.
The court stepped in after those affected said they were not given notice of the impending demolition.
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) used bulldozers to raze extensions of houses, stalls and vending carts along a street in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood on Wednesday.
The action followed Saturday’s violence, which was sparked by a religious procession by Hindu devotees who brandished swords and shouted provocative slogans as they passed by a mosque in the area, NDTV news channel reported. Stones and bottles were allegedly pelted at the procession followed by the clashes.
The municipal corporation of North Delhi is run by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The demolitions came a day after Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta wrote to the North Delhi commissioner asking him to identify illegal constructions by those arrested in Saturday’s violence, The Print news portal reported.
India faces calls to probe officials who crushed Muslim homes in Madhya Pradesh
Similar action against Muslims accused of rioting has been reported from BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
There have been several incidents of religious rioting in different parts of India in the past two weeks sparked by processions on Hindu festivals like Hanuman Jayanti on Saturday and Ram Navami the previous weekend. Ram Navami clashes were reported from at least seven states.
Critics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP government claim there has been a surge of communal violence across India with the party and its right-wing affiliates encouraging hostility against Muslims in an effort to consolidate votes.
Muslims account for over 14 per cent of India’s nearly 1.4 billion Hindu-majority population.
