Civic authorities on Monday demolished the house of Fahim Khan, a leader of the Minority Democratic Party (MDP) who has been booked for sedition in the Nagpur violence case.
At around 10.30 am on Monday, three JCB machines of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation started demolishing the house, located at Sanjay Bagh Colony in Yashodhara Nagar area, amid heavy security and drone surveillance.
Civic sources claimed that the action was being taken under the MRTP (The Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning) Act, as the construction of the building was "unauthorised."
The house, registered in the name of Khan's mother, was located on a plot of Nagpur Improvement Trust (Lease) and the lease ended in 2020, a civic official said.
There was no sanction plan for the building and the entire construction was unauthorised, the official said, adding the action was being taken under the MRTP Act. A notice of demolition was given 24 hours prior to the action, the official said.
Khan who is currently lodged in jail is among the over 100 persons, mostly Muslims arrested for the violence in Maharashtra's Nagpur city on March 17. Local Muslims of the area have accused the police of arbitrary arrests and bias towards the community.
The violence erupted on March 17, after members of Hindu extremist groups Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) allegedly burnt a 'chadar' with Quranic inscriptions during an agitation demanding the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb in Kuldabad, around 490 kilometres away from Nagpur.
Following the incident, some Muslim residents gathered at the site to protest and complained to the police demanding the immediate arrest of those involved in the burning of the religious text. However, the police refused to pay heed to their demands and sided with the right-wing groups, alleged local Muslims.
By the evening on March 17, VHP and Bajrang Dal members marched through Muslim-majority areas of Nagpur, chanting provocative slogans, which resulted in clashes with the local Muslims. 38-year-old Irfan Ansari, who was attacked by the mob while on his way to Nagpur railway station, succumbed to injuries on Saturday, marking the first death from the violence.
The violence also caused massive destruction to properties in the Muslim-majority areas. According to the local residents, police refused to step in during the violence and sometimes actively participated in the destruction of property, along with the right-wing mob.
Eight workers of the VHP and Bajrang Dal had surrendered before the police two days after the violence, only to get bail that evening from the court.
According to Cyber DCP Lohit Matani, Fahim Khan, who has been dubbed the "key accused" in the violence, is accused of "editing and circulating the video of the protest against Aurangzeb due to which the riots spread." He is also accused of "glorifying the violent videos."
Meanwhile, similar to other recent incidents of communally instigated violence including that in Sambhal, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said bulldozer action will be used against the accused, "wherever required."
"Whatever damage has happened will be recovered from the rioters. If they do not pay the money, then their property will be sold for the recovery. Wherever required, bulldozers will also be used," Fadnavis was quoted as saying by ANI.
The CM also said that individuals who incited violence through social media will be treated as co-accused.
Fadnavis' statement on punitive bulldozer action comes amidst a Supreme Court-ordered stay on such measures.
"The chilling sight of a bulldozer demolishing a building, when authorities have failed to follow the basic principles of natural justice and have acted without adhering to the principle of due process, reminds one of a lawless state of affairs, where might was right,” the apex court had noted in its November 2024 order.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
