NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Maharashtra government to file a response regarding the demolition of an illegal portion of Nagpur riot accused Fahim Khan’s house.
The directive came in response to a contempt plea challenging the demolition. The petitioner alleged that the action was linked to an ‘anti-India slogan’ raised during a cricket match. The top court has given the Maharashtra authorities four weeks to respond and agreed to hear the contempt plea against them.
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) on Monday demolished the illegal double-storied building of Fahim Khan at Sanjay Bagh Colony under the Ashi Nagar zone.
The unauthorised residential structure was razed as part of the civic body’s crackdown on illegal constructions. The anti-encroachment squad, backed by heavy police deployment, arrived with two excavators around 10 am to carry out the demolition.
The illegal construction came to fore after Ashi Nagar zone officials carried out inspection of Khan’s house on March 20. On March 21, the zone has issued a demolition notice. Despite a 24-hour ultimatum to demolish the 86.48 sq m structure, Khan’s family failed to comply. With Khan in police custody, NMC razed the house, registered under his wife Zahirunnisa Shamim Khan, citing violation of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.
Fahim Khan, a leader of the Minority Democratic Party (MDP), is among the over 100 persons arrested following the violence in Nagpur on March 17.The unrest began after rumors circulated that a ‘chadar’ with religious inscriptions had been burned during protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), calling for the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The clashes led to widespread stone-pelting and arson across several areas of Nagpur, leaving 33 police officers injured, including three deputy commissioners of police.