Viral: Woman Weeps As Bulldozer Destroys Her Home In Jahangirpuri Demolition Drive

Since Saturday, the Jahangirpuri area in Delhi has been in a state of unrest. The rift began after a mob allegedly conducted a rally on Hanuman Jayanti while brandishing naked swords, guns and lathis outside a masjid in the area. A clash between two communities due to the rift has now led to a strict municipal action and many houses are now being destroyed under the guise of removing illegal settlements.

Many heartbreaking videos from the area are finding their way to news portals and social media. People can be seen in a state of despair after seeing their houses being reduced to dust in front of their eyes, helplessly. To avoid any resistance, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has also deployed armed forces to keep protests at bay.

This anti-encroachment drive was announced by the Corporation after a statement of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi Chief Adesh Gupta demanding the demolition of "illegal" houses of accused persons, who were involved in the Saturday's violence.

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Jahangirpuri Demolition

Amidst this, a video of a woman weeping and begging those in charge to not demolish her house/shop has surfaced on the internet. Shared by Eshwar, who is the Associate Editor and head of the news desk at The Quint, the video sees the woman weeping inconsolably while her house/shop is dismantled.

Eshwar wrote, "Woman weeps and begs before the authorities as a JCB demolishes part of her house/shop in Delhi's #Jahangirpuri. Citing 'illegal construction,' MCD demolished several structures days after communal clashes on 16 April. The SC has ordered to maintain status quo @TheQuint @QuintHindi."

After the demolition was ordered, a petitioner rushed to the Supreme Court to stop the anti-encroachment drive and showcase that there has been a disturbing pattern across states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, where communal clashes and later demolition by the state which targeted only one community. Responding to the urgent petition, the three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana ordered that the case will be taken up tomorrow for the hearing and till then demolition needs to stop.

However, despite the order, the corporation continued to demolish for two more hours. The Mayor of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation Raja Iqbal Singh said that they had not received the order and thus would continue with the "removing of illegal structures."

Lawyer Dushyant Dave complained about this to the SC, following which CJI Ramana directed that the order must immediately be communicated to the corporation. Around the same time, Brinda Karat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) reached the area with a physical copy of the order to stop the destruction.

Feature Image Credit: Eshwar/ Twitter