Tag: Shaheen Bagh

SDMC’s anti-encroachment drive reaches New Friends Colony, day after Shaheen Bagh stir

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Tuesday carried out anti-encroachment drive on Gurudwara Road in New Friends Colony as civic officials reached the spot with bulldozers and removed illegal temporary structures, the authority said.

This comes a day after the civic body had to return without executing the action in Shaheen Bagh on Monday following protests by locals and political leaders.

SDMC’s Central Zone Chairman Rajpal Singh said the anti-encroachment drive has begun in areas around New Friends Colony.

“Our enforcement teams along with adequate police force and equipment such as bulldozers and trucks have started removing illegally set up kiosks, temporary structures, shanties or shops from near Baudha Dharma Temple, Gurudwara Road and nearby areas in New Friends Colony. Our drive against encroachment will continue,” Singh told PTI.

New Friends Colony falls under the Central Zone of the SDMC. SDMC’s drive in Shaheen Bagh had witnessed people protesting in large numbers against the action and a complaint was also registered against AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan for obstructing the drive.

The Supreme Court had also refused to entertain a plea filed by the CPI(M) against the demolition drive at Shaheen Bagh, saying it cannot interfere in the matter at the instance of a political party.

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SDMC files police complaint against AAP MLA & others for obstructing anti-encroachment drive at Shaheen Bagh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The South Delhi Municipal Corporation lodged a complaint with the police against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Aamanatullah Khan and his supporters for obstructing the civic body’s anti-encroachment drive in Shaheen Bagh on Monday, hours after state BJP chief Adesh Gupta asked the SDMC mayor to do so.

In a complaint to the station house officer (SHO) of Shaheen Bagh, SDMC’s Central Zone licensing inspector said that an encroachment removal drive was fixed for Monday on the main road in Shaheen Bagh and its staff and police personnel were present at the site for carrying out the action.

“MLA Amanatullah Khan (Okhla) along with his supporters present did not allow the field staff of the SDMC zone to remove the encroachment. In view of the above, you are requested to take appropriate legal action against Amanatullah Khan and his supporters for interfering in discharge of official duties by public servants,” according to the complaint.

The action came after SDMC Mayor Mukesh Suryan wrote to the municipal commissioner to lodge an FIR against AAP MLA Khan and other leaders for obstructing the anti-encroachment drive.

Also Read: South Delhi Municipal Corporation launches 10-day anti-encroachment drive

The civic body has planned an encroachment removal action in Shaheen Bagh but protests erupted as soon as the authorities reached there with bulldozers. They had to return from Shaheen Bagh without executing the exercise.

In his letter to Municipal Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti, Suryan said that Delhi BJP chief Gupta apprised him that some political leaders obstructed the pre-planned anti-encroachment drive in Shaheen Bagh.

“It has come to my notice that local area MLA Amanatullah Khan and councillor Abdul Wazid Khan have obstructed the government action. Hence, it is requested to you to please take cognizance of the issue and take appropriate action in accordance with the law and register an FIR against persons related with the matter,” Suryan wrote.

Delhi BJP Chief Gupta also wrote a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner and demanded that an FIR be registered against the AAP and Congress leaders who obstructed the SDMC’s anti-encroachment drive in Shaheen Bagh.

Also Read: Gopal Rai on landfill fires: BJP-run MCDs should have employed bulldozers on garbage mountains

In his letter to the Police Commissioner, Gupta said some AAP leaders, including party MLA and councillor, and the Congress disrupted the drive by “lying in front of bulldozers”. “So, it is requested to take action in accordance with the law and register a case against those responsible for obstructing the government (civic body) work,” Gupta said in the letter.

Protests erupted at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh on Monday with hundreds of people, including women, opposing an anti-encroachment drive of the SDMC as bulldozers rolled into the area in the presence of a huge number of police personnel, even as the civic body team was forced to return without carrying out the exercise.

The protesters raised slogans against the BJP-ruled SDMC as well as the Centre and demanded that the action be stopped. Some of the women protesters even stood in front of the bulldozers to prevent the exercise.

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Protests erupt in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh after SDMC’s anti-encroachment drive

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Protests erupted in Shaheen Bagh on Monday with hundreds of people, including women, opposing the SDMC’s anti-encroachment drive as bulldozers rolled into the area in presence of heavy police personnel.

Protesters raised slogans against the BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) as well as the central government and demanded that the action should be stopped. Some women protestors also stood in front of bulldozers to prevent the exercise in Delhi.

Leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress also reached the spot and staged a dharna against the action. The protest also caused heavy traffic snarls in Shaheen Bagh, Kalindi Kunj, Jaitpur, Sarita Vihar, and Mathura Road among other areas, SDMC’s Central Zone Chairman Rajpal Singh said.

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South Delhi Municipal Corporation launches 10-day anti-encroachment drive

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The BJP-led South Delhi Municipal Corporation on Wednesday launched an anti-encroachment drive as part of a 10-day action plan to remove illegal structures from areas within its jurisdiction, including Shaheen Bagh, the venue of gathering for the protracted anti-CAA protests in 2019.

The drive, in which bulldozers were also being used, began from Karni Singh Shooting Range on MB Road in Sangam Vihar area, and will continue till May 13 in different localities, Rajpal Singh, SDMC chairman, Central Zone, said.

The drive will cover areas such as the Shaheen Bagh main road, Kalindi Kunj, MB Road, Meharchand Market, Sriniwas Puri and Khada Colony, he said. “We have prepared a 10-day action plan to remove encroachment from these areas, including Shaheen Bagh. We have also asked for adequate police force to carry out the drive. We will start the drive in Shaheen Bagh on May 9,” Singh said.

He added that encroachments in Kalindi Kunj and Sriniwas Puri will be removed on May 5 and 6. On May 10, the drive will be conducted near Gurudwara Road near New Friends Colony. On May 11, it will be conducted in Meharchand Market, Lodhi Colony near Sai Baba Mandir and near JLN Metro station, he said.

Also Read: Govt tells SC Jahangirpuri demolition part of exercise that began in 2021 to remove encroachments

Another senior SDMC official said, “This is the plan for our routine encroachment removal drives. All these actions are also subject to the availability of the police force.”

Shaheen Bagh, which falls under the SDMC’s central zone, was in the limelight for being the venue of the sit-in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December, 2019. The protest was called off only after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the city in March 2020.

The drive comes after Delhi BJP Chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the mayors of South and East corporations on April 20 to remove encroachments by “Rohingyas, Bangladeshis and anti-social elements” in their areas.

In April, a drive was planned in Okhla and Jasola but it could not be executed due to the unavailability of adequate police force. The SDMC has written to the police authorities in southeast and south districts to seek force to carry out the encroachment removal action.

An anti-encroachment drive conducted by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) in Jahangirpuri area just four days after communal violence in the locality drew widespread criticism. The Supreme Court had intervened and ordered the NDMC to maintain status quo.

Also Read: Delhi seeks help from neighbour Haryana for second time in a week amid water crisis

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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Coronavirus: Police vacate protesters at Shaheen Bagh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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In view of the complete lockdown in the national capital to thwart the COVID-19 spread, Delhi Police cleared the protest site in Shaheen Bagh on Tuesday and detained some protesters.

Deputy Commissioner of Police RP Meena said, “Police requested them to vacate the place but they refused. So, police cleared the area and detained a few protesters.”

The Delhi Police also said, “All protest sites have been cleared — Jaffrabad, Jamia and Turkman Gate. Some persons detained in all these places as well.”

Sources in Delhi Police said, “A team of senior police officers reached the site at 6.45 a.m. First, they tried to pacify the protesters. At that time around a dozen persons were present. Usually, very few women protesters remain there during the mornings. And because of the lockdown, their number already was very less.”

The police arrived with trucks and JCB machines and dismantled all the structures and seized the tents.

The police sources say that “Delhi Police will register a case of violation of prohibitory orders against the organisers and the persons detained.”

Police also said, “The Kalindi Kunj road connects Delhi-Noida-Faridabad and it was necessary that essential commodities should also reach the people. It was certainly, the violation of section 144 (prohibitory orders), therefore they cleared the site.”

The protests at Shaheen Bagh had been going on since three months against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). It all started after the police action in Jamia Millia where police used force against the anti-CAA protesters in which many students were injured allegedly.

Shaheen Bagh had become a symbol of anti-CAA protest and was replicated in some other parts. However, amid the fear of the spread of the COVID-19, protests in other places were called off.

Shaheen Bagh protesters had tweeted on the day of the Janata Curfew after a petrol bomb was hurled at the barricades, “We are committed to cooperating with the law of the land and request all our well-wishers and sympathisers to abide by the same. We are all in this together. We will come back stronger. This is not over.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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Heavy police deployment in Shaheen Bagh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Delhi police made heavy deployment of security personnel in southeast Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh area, where several women have been leading a protest on the road against the new citizenship law for more than two months, as a precautionary measure on Sunday, officials said.

The police deployment has come after a fringe right-wing group, Hindu Sena, gave a call to clear the Shaheen Bagh road on March 1. However on Saturday, with the intervention of police, they called off their proposed protest against the anti-CAA agitation in Shaheen Bagh.

“The proposed protest call was cancelled with timely intervention. But as a precautionary measure, we have made heavy police deployment here,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) RP Meena said.

Twelve companies, including two of female forces, have been deployed in Shaheen Bagh, 100 men each from four police districts have also been deployed along with the local police, the official said.

The Hindu Sena said in statement police pressured them to call off their protest on Sunday against the Shaheen Bagh agitation.

Shaheen Bagh, near Jamia Millia Islamia, has been a protest venue for a section of people opposed to the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens since December 15 last year.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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Supreme Court pulls up Delhi Police over violence

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the environment in the capital was not conducive for it to hear a plea against the Shaheen Bagh protesters as the toll in Delhi violence over CAA agitation reached 20.

A bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice K.M. Joseph noted the inability of the police to work without taking instruction from anyone, which resulted in the spreading of the violence that erupted on February 23.

When Justice Joseph cited the functioning of the police in the US and UK, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta contested it by stating that if Delhi Police were to act in accordance with its western counterparts, then “courts will be the first to intervene.

Mehta also objected to Justice Joseph’s remarks, and argued that one policeman has already died in firing by “a private bullet” and that a Deputy Commissioner of Police was brutally attacked. “This may not a time to put blame of the force,” Mehta told the court.

The apex court deferred the hearing till March 23, as it pulled up Delhi Police for its inaction over the last four days, when widespread violence spread across Gokulpuri, Jafrabad, Maujpur, Seelampur, Chand Bagh among other areas in the northeast.

The court also questioned the Centre for not taking appropriate steps to allow Delhi Police to work professionally to instil faith in the rule of law.

Justice Joseph expressed anguish over the loss of life. He also cited the implementation of the top court verdict in the Prakash Singh case to make police more effective and professional in its conduct.

Declining to expand the scope of the petition, which focuses on the clearing road blockade at Shaheen Bagh, the court took cognizance of the recent spike in violence in various parts of the capital.

“What happened is very unfortunate and it should not have happened….we do not to expand the ambit of Shaheen Bagh case and people can seek remedy by filing separate petition on the matter,” said the top court.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

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Cop killed as CAA protesters, supporters clash in Delhi

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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A Delhi police head constable was killed on Monday as pro-CAA and anti-CAA groups battled each other in parts of north-east Delhi.

A bullet fired by unruly protesters injured a youth, while several vehicles and a house in the vicinity were also set ablaze.

The head constable who lost his life has been identified as Ratan Lal, sources said.

Localities in this part of the national capital have been witnessing violent clashes between the anti-CAA and pro-CAA groups since Sunday afternoon. The pro-CAA groups assembled at Maujpur metro station while the anti-CAA protesters settled down about a kilometre away, at Jaffrabad metro station.

However, by Monday noon, things turned ugly between the two groups leading to several vehicles being set ablaze while a house near Maujpur metro station was also set on fire. Heavy stone pelting was reported from both sides.

Efforts to bring normalcy in the area have been in vain, despite the presence of various high-level Delhi police officers on the spot. Security forces have also used tear gas shells to scatter the protesters, but the situation remained tense.

Meanwhile, sources say that paramilitary forces have been called in to assist the police.

Journalists covering the spot were also targeted by the protesters as they were stopped from recording videos of the clashes and some of the media personnel were even beaten up.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Anti-CAA protesters occupy road at Delhi’s Jaffrabad

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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An anti-CAA protest by around 500 people, mostly women, near the Jaffrabad metro station in northeast Delhi continued on Sunday, prompting the Delhi Metro authorities to close the entry and exit gates of the station.

The protest began on Saturday night, blocking a road which connects Seelampur with Maujpur and Yamuna Vihar.

The women, carrying the tricolour and raising slogans of ‘aazadi’, said they would not move from the site till the Centre revokes the CAA.

Heavy security deployment, including women police personnel, has been made in the area.

In view of the protest, entry and exit gates of the Jaffrabad metro station were closed. “Entry & exit of Jaffrabad have been closed. Trains will not be halting at this station,” the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation tweeted.

A woman, who identified herself as Bushra, had said that till the time the CAA was not revoked, the protesters would not leave the site.

Social activist Faheem Baig had said that there was resentment among the people against the way the government was handling the issue.

A protest is already going on near the main Seelampur road and Kardampuri against the amended citizenship act.

The protest at Jaffrabad took place at a time efforts are being made to clear a road blocked by anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh.

The protesters have been staging a sit-in at Shaheen Bagh for over two months, blocking the road connecting southeast Delhi and Noida.

The Supreme Court has appointed interlocutors in an attempt to reach out to the anti-CAA protesters.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow