Delhi police arrested AAP MLA Amantullah Khan on May 12, 2022 following clashes between police personnel and Madanpur Khadar residents who were opposing the anti-encroachment drive by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC). According to Indian Express, 12 residents, including a mother and daughter, were detained.
After a failed demolition drive at Shaheen Bagh earlier in the week, the SDMC on Thursday conducted an anti-encroachment drive in the presence of police and CRPF personnel with bulldozers and trucks. As in the case of Shaheen Bagh, hundreds of residents of Madanpur Khadar gathered under the guidance of Khan, who visited Shaheen Bagh earlier and convinced officials to not conduct demolitions.
However, police alleged that the protest soon turned violent as locals pelted stones. Officials called it an unlawful assembly during which the police “had to retaliate”. Okhla’s MLA Khan and five other people were arrested for obstructing a public servant, voluntarily hurting a public servant, assault, rioting with deadly weapons, unlawful assembly and provocation with intent to riot.
भाजपा के “बुलडोज़रतंत्र” का विरोध कर रही जनता पर पुलिस द्वारा लाठीचार्ज असंवैधानिक है।
हम भाजपा की जनविरोधी नीतियों के ख़िलाफ़ हैं, जनता के हक़ की आवाज़ मैं हमेशा उठाता रहूँगा इसके लिए मुझे चाहे कितनी बार भी जेल जाना पड़े। pic.twitter.com/adcRX7wNpM— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) May 12, 2022
Khan told the Indian Express that while he does not mind being jailed, he condemned the police for threatening him. Wife Shafia appealed to people on social media on the intervening night of May 12 and May 13 to close their shops from 9 AM to 5 PM and condemn the arrest.
Meanwhile, Khan told Indian Express, “I am now silently protesting… it is my right. I am here for Hindus and Muslims who are losing their homes. I was told about the demolition in the morning. The SDMC is randomly targeting colonies. Their officials sent a notice today. Is this legal?”
On the flipside, locals accused the police of pushing and lathi-charging protesters. The SDMC began tearing down buildings using machines, construction workers and labourers around 11 A.M. According to the Hindustan Times, four illegal buildings were partially or fully demolished by the SDMC in Kanchan Kunj area, a part of the Madanpur Khadar. Of them, one double-storey building belonged to Dr. Ansar Ahmed Malik, who lives in Shaheen Bagh. The other three buildings were under construction.
Speaking to the newspaper, resident association President Sharif Ali accused the central government of targeting their area for clearing “unauthorised colonies” because of the predominantly Muslim population. Accusations of such discriminatory administrative work have been rampant since the illegal demolition in Jahangirpuri.
Shops and houses in the area were destroyed before a Supreme Court order brought by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat halted the destruction. The same was then attempted in Shaheen Bagh, along the same road where the anti-CAA protests took place. However, residents assembled in thousands and refused to move until the machines went away. Then, on May 11 the SDMC bulldozed the New Friends Colony.
These successive anti-encroachment drives have begun since the Khargone demolitions in Madhya Pradesh. Muslim residents, led by women, in this region recently rose in protest, decrying the administration and police for ignoring their rights as Indian citizens. However, in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) play a blame-game of “Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrations”.
The latter claims to be on a ‘mission’ to ‘rid’ the city and country of alleged Rohingya and Bangladeshi infiltrators. For one reason or another, in real life, this has resulted in targeted demolitions of Muslim areas alone. Meanwhile, AAP leaders accuse the BJP of “settling Rohingya and Bangladeshis in Jahangirpuri” and similar places to fuel communal tension.
In all of this, ground reporters show how families in these areas are now left to fend for themselves.
Residents protest against the encroachment drive run by South MCD at Madanpur Khadar, New Delhi.
? Salman Ali #Bulldozer #EncroachmentDrive #delhi pic.twitter.com/sYuBntIFwn— salman ali (@salmanclicks) May 12, 2022
? From the ground in #MadanpurKhadar yesterday a demolition drive was carried out, buildings were broken. A brutal lathicharge, accompanied by detentions and the arrest of @KhanAmanatullah followed.
Testimonies of what transpired out soon @thewire_in. With @realMohsinJaved pic.twitter.com/pIooVz7CY3
— Sumedhapal (@Sumedhapal4) May 13, 2022
Related:
Khambat: Muslim women take to the streets to protest continued oppression of the community
Khargone’s Muslims rise against police atrocities