At 10 a.m. today, bulldozers rolled along Jahangirpuri in
Delhi, the site of the clashes at the Hanuman Jayanti rally on Saturday.
The North Delhi City Corporation has sent nine bulldozers to
fight what it called an illegal invasion of Jahangirpuri. It has asked 400
police officers to keep order in an area that has been strained by the
violence.
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Hundreds of riot police gathered around bulldozers around
several shops and mosques, where clashes took place on Saturday. "We are
here to provide protection and maintain law and order," said Dependra
Pathak, a senior police officer.
The petitioner rushing to the Supreme Court to stop the demolition
described what they call a terrible pattern that can be seen in states like
Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh - joint clashes followed by
community-based demolition efforts. The petitioner also said that the Delhi
City Corporation had not warned anyone against demolition.
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When BJP citizenship began demolishing the buildings, a
three-member court led by Indian Chief Justice NV Ramana decided to maintain
the status quo until the next hearing - tomorrow - to stop the demolition.
But the demolition did not stop and the excavators proceeded
to pull down shops before heading to the mosque. Officials said they did not
have the court order in hand yet and would continue "remove illegal buildings
“until they did.
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A wall and a gate of the mosque was razed and some shops
nearby were pulled down amid rising tension.
At around 12 o'clock, CPM leader Brinda Karat arrived with a
physical copy of the order and called on police and civilian staff to stop the
demolition immediately. In one video, he can be seen in front of a bulldozer,
which apparently is blocking the way.
Ms Karat also met with the police to try and stop the
bulldozers.
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At the same time, the petitioner told the Supreme Court that
the demolition had not stopped despite the order.
"They say the order is not communicated. Please
communicate, ask the secretary General," senior lawyer Dushyant Dave told
Chief Justice Ramana. "It was widely reported in media immediately. This
is not right! We are in rule of law society," he said.
"It will be too late otherwise," Mr Dave said,
requesting urgent remedial action. "Ok. Communicate it through
Secretary-General or Registrar General (of the apex court) immediately,"
said the Chief Justice.
The Chief Justice ordered the court staff to obtain the
contact numbers of the NDMC Mayor, Mr. Dave, the Commissioner and the Police
Commissioner in Delhi.
The demolition was finally stopped two hours after the
Supreme Court's order.