'Nobody listened to me,' says shopkeeper with permit in Jahangirpuri

Bulldozers rolled into troubled Jahangirpuri on Wednesday morning and tore down several concrete and temporary structures close to a mosque as part of an anti-encroachment drive by the BJP-ruled civic body, days after the northwest Delhi neighbourhood was rocked by communal violence.

In less than two hours, several shops and businesses were pulled down amid scenes of chaos, with many owners insisting their establishments had the sanction of the Delhi Development Authority and the local civic body.

Also Read | Supreme Court halts Jahangirpuri demolition for next 2 weeks, issues notice to NDMC, others

Ganesh Gupta, who ran a juice vend, claimed the DDA had allotted the shop in 1977. "I showed them the document but nobody listened to me," he said.

"I am not involved with the rioters. My father had been running the shop since 1977, now I am running it. They didn't want to see the paper," Gupta told NDTV. "It is ok if you want to demolish illegal structures but don't go after those who have papers"

"My shop is in my father's name. I asked them to see my papers. But they didn't listen, they used the bulldozer on the shop," Gupta said.

Shop owners, whose establishments were demolished, claimed the NDMC launched the encroachment drive without giving prior notice to them.

Also Read | Will follow SC order on Jahangirpuri but drive to continue in other areas: North MCD Mayor

"If you (authorities) want to punish, then punish the accused who have been arrested. Why are you punishing the whole community? People have lost their livelihood," Mohammad Rahman, whose shop was razed, said.

"Shobha Yatra ka badla liya ja raha hai (it's an act of revenge for what had happened during the Shobha Yatra)," said Sajid Saifi whose electrical repair shop was also razed.

According to locals, the anti-encroachment drive continued for an hour and a half after the Supreme Court's initial order to stop it and maintain the status quo.

The NDMC's action came a day after Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the mayor to identify illegal constructions of the "rioters" in Jahangirpuri and demolish them using bulldozers, raising questions about the political intention behind the action.

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