Last Wednesday, protestors demanding demolition of a portion of a mosque in Sanjauli area of Shimla had a scuffle with the police and 10 people were injured.
A consumer forum in Lucknow, India, has halted the construction of actress Sunny Leone's restaurant-cum-bar, citing concerns about "unauthorised activity" and potential security threats to the neighboring high court premises and the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan. The commission deemed the allotment of the society's community center to a commercial establishment as inappropriate and raised concerns about the Lucknow Development Authority's approval of the project. The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 19.
With several state administrations flattening the houses of those involved in criminal cases with bulldozers, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned how can anybody's house be demolished just because he is an accused.
"PWD officials had informed us that a wall of the mosque was in PWD land and we were served a notice. So we decided to demolish the wall," Iqbal Ali, a member of the mosque committee, said earlier.
Action was being taken to remove encroachments from about 10,000 square feet of land around the temple premises.
Bulldozers demolished several structures at Jahangirpuri on Wednesday amid a heavy paramilitary and police presence during the NDMC's anti-encroachment drive that was stopped within hours following a Supreme Court order.
Protesters raised slogans against the BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation as well as the central government and demanded to stop the action.
The apex court, while hearing a separate plea on the issue on June 7, had directed the state and the Faridabad municipal corporation to remove "all encroachments" in the Aravali forest area, saying "land grabbers cannot take refuge of rule of law" and talk of "fairness".
'The fire burning on the streets because of BJP's hateful politics will not light up homes'
"My family and I continue to spend the night in the open. Some locals are providing us with food and water, etc.," Hassan said on Friday, a day after he refused an offer by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to move him and his family to an EWS flat in Narela.
A curfew was imposed in Haldwani on Thursday after local residents set vehicles and a police station on fire and hurled stones, injuring more than 60 people, over the demolition of an 'illegally built' madrasa and an adjoining mosque, officials said.
The state government said that none of the actual affected parties, if any, have approached this court concerning the lawful demolition action.
It further said the UK government must not remain a mute bystander.
Slamming the anti-encroachment drive being carried out in various parts of the city, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said if bulldozers raze shops and houses of 63 lakh people in Delhi, which are considered illegal, it will be the "biggest destruction" in independent India.
Amid escalating tensions over the Sinjauli mosque in Shimla, a Muslim welfare committee on Thursday urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it in accordance with a court order.
According to the notice, Malik's supporters attacked the team that had gone to carry out the demolition drive in 'Malik Ka Bagicha' and damaged the properties of the municipal corporation.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government has ordered magisterial enquiries into the demolition and also the death of a six month-old child.
With the fresh arrests, the total number of rioters held in connection with incidents of stone pelting and arson triggered by the demolition of a madrassa in the town on February 8 has climbed to 42, they said.
A pillar had encroached on a storm water drain at Doddabommassandra near Vidyaranyapura and officials had marked the portion for demolition.
The drive is undertaken a day after Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the party-ruled North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to identify illegal constructions of 'rioters' in Jahangirpuri and demolish them using bulldozers.
Six rioters were killed in the violence that broke out over the demolition of an illegally built madrasa, officials said Friday as curfew remained enforced in Uttarakhand's Haldwani town.
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said the demolition drive was carried out on land that was "part of planned development land". Police said several structures built illegally were demolished during the drive.
Dhami said several acres of land were freed from encroachment during the demolition drive in the 'Malik Ka Bagicha' area of Banbhoolpura.
Junagadh Municipal Corporation served a notice to the dargah asking for presenting its documents within five days.
A curfew has been clamped in the area.
A baby died in Shakur Basti area in West Delhi where a demolition drive was carried out by railways, triggering an angry reaction from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who slammed the railways and suspended three officials for "failing to arrange" food for those evicted.
Delhi police has registered a case of death due to negligence in connection with the loss of life of an infant girl during the demolition of a slum cluster in west Delhi's Shakur basti.
In a relief to 4,000 families facing imminent threat of demolition of their houses in a bitterly cold winter, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Uttarakhand high court order for removal of encroachments from 29 acres of land claimed by the railways in Haldwani, terming it a 'human issue' and saying 50,000 people cannot be uprooted overnight.
While Rajasthan BJP president Satish Poonia accused the Congress of being behind the demolition, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra asserted that it was the decision of the city's municipality headed by the saffron party.
Chidambaram came down hard on the Jahangirpuri demolitions and those in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone earlier, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders' justification of the bulldozer-enabled demolitions 'flies in the face of the law'.
The official said the occupants of the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) land were illegal Bangladeshi immigrants who were earlier living in Assam and the shanties were demolished Thursday evening.
"Why is CPI-M filing a petition? What is the fundamental right that is being violated? Not at the behest of political parties. This is not the platform. You go to the high court," the bench said.
Modi can abandon the path of Hindutva only at risk to his position within his own fraternity. But if he pursues a hard line, he faces the risk of being hauled up by his coalition-partners. For the first time in a decade, Modi is not in enviable situation, observes Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay.
'The people, media and politicians are ready to listen to the troubles of Kangana Ranaut, but we are unwanted lives in the heart of Delhi.' Shine Jacob reports.
Authorities in Nuh district Sunday razed some illegal structures including a hotel from where stones were allegedly pelted on a religious procession last week, even as a mahapanchayat was held in support of four men arrested over arson at a mosque and the death of its junior imam.
A minaret of Khajoor ki Masjid in Gudri Bazaar in the heart of Faizabad city is said to be encroaching on the proposed Ram Path by three metres.
Two days after a toddler died in a West Delhi slum cluster demolished by railways, triggering a political slugfest with ruling AAP targeting the Centre and Congress coming down hard on both.
The former IAS officer was sworn-in as Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Tourism; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
With the sole motive of triggering communal violence and riots, the BJP got Rohingyas and Bangladeshis 'illegally' settled in different parts of the country in the last eight years, the AAP alleged.
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