Protests broke out in Northwest Delhi’s Mangolpuri after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) demolished a portion of a boundary wall of a mosque, Tuesday. While the MCD claimed the wall was encroaching on the adjoining municipal park, the local councilor alleged the measure was aimed at “spoiling the atmosphere of the area”.
According to a police officer, MCD officials arrived at 6 am with an earthmover to demolish the boundary wall and were met by protesting residents. “This initiative was part of our ongoing efforts to address unauthorised religious encroachments and uphold the integrity of public spaces,” an MCD spokesperson said.
According to MCD officials, protesters formed a human chain to obstruct the entry of machines into the area. Additionally, women protesters sat on the structure to prevent the demolition from being carried out.
DCP (Outer) Jimmy Chiram told The Indian Express that the law and order situation was “not compromised because of the protests” and there was no incident of stone pelting. “There was some tension and people were upset but we talked to them and sorted the situation out before it could escalate,” the DCP said.
Questioning the MCD action, MLA of Sultanpur Majra, AAP’s Mukesh Ahlawat, said permission for demolition should have been taken from the Religious Comm-ittee. This area falls under the Sultanpur Majra assembly constituency. “The mosque was around 30-35 years old, maybe older… generally in such cases, the Religious Committee is consulted on whether to carry out the demolition. It then recommends whether the structure shall be preserved or demolished, based on its age. In this case, the committee was not consulted,” said Ahlawat, adding, “They (MCD) gave a notice three days ago and were supposed to carry out the demolition between 10 am and 11 am today… but they came at 6 am.”
Mangolpuri councillor, Rajesh Kumar, too wasn’t happy with the action. “Firstly the (MCD’s) Horticulture Department officers (who came for demolition) had no documentation that showed any approval for the action… Secondly, who comes to a demolition with so many policemen? It was clear the intention was to spoil the atmosphere of the area,” he alleged.
The demolition was temporarily halted, as per the MCD statement, on police advice. By the time it stopped, 20 metres of the structure had been razed.
