Tension prevailed in the Madanpur Khadar area in the national capital today as the police resorted to mild lathi-charge after they were pelted with stones during the ongoing anti-encroachment drive.
A large number of locals protested in southeast Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar area today against the Municipal Corporation officials during the anti-encroachment drive.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan, who reached
the spot to extend his support to the people, was detained by the police. The situation turned volatile soon after he was detained despite the people resisting it and resorting to stone-pelting. The police had to use force to disperse the crowd.
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Talking to the media, Khan accused the civic agency of demolishing the houses of the poor. He said if his arrest can save people’s houses, he is willing to go to jail. “You said you will remove encroachments. I am with you in this. But you are demolishing the houses of the poor. There is not a single encroachment in this area,” he said.
At the time of writing the report, the police were cordoning off the entire area. Some stone-pelters have also been detained. The authorities were demolishing two five-storey under-construction buildings.
According to one of the locals, the building was under construction for over a year. After the situation turned volatile, police and paramilitary staff were deployed in the area.
On Monday, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) proposed a similar drive in Shaheen Bagh. During the drive, the AAP MLA Mukesh Ahlawat obstructed the demolition work and was detained by the police.
The bulldozer razed several booths and kiosks that were constructed along the roadside but there was no protest by the people in the area. A high voltage drama was witnessed during the demolition drive at Shaheen Bagh.
The Municipal Corporation officials reached the spot along with JCB bulldozers to conduct a demolition drive there but after people’s protest, the drive was halted as people had themselves removed the illegal encroachments.
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