NDMC stops anti-encroachment drive in Jahangirpuri following SC order

New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Bulldozers razed several structures in violence-hit Jahangirpuri on Wednesday during an anti-encroachment drive by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation but it was stopped within hours following a Supreme Court order.

The anti-encroachment drive continued even after the Supreme Court directed authorities to stop it.

An NDMC official, requesting anonymity, said the drive continued because of the absence of a written order from the Supreme Court.

It was stopped as soon as the order was received, the official added.

The Supreme Court directed the apex court Secretary-General to convey the earlier order to stop demolition in the riots-hit Jahangirpuri here to the NDMC Mayor and the Delhi Police Commissioner immediately.

A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana, in the forenoon, ordered the stopping of the drive and also agreed to hear a petition challenging the action of the civic bodies allegedly aimed against the accused of the communal offences.

Despite the apex court's directions, bulldozers were seen razing structures near a mosque in Jahangirpuri's C Block where a violence had erupted on April 16.

The drive went on for 1.5 hours.

However, North Delhi Municipal Corporation Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said the drive has been stopped in the wake of Supreme Court's order.

"We will follow the Supreme Court orders. We have stopped the drive. The civic machinery there is now only lifting the garbage and other items lying on the roads in the area," Singh told PTI.

Meanwhile, heavy police and paramilitary forces were deployed ahead of the drive.

Officials said security forces were carrying out a flag march in the area and they took stock of the situation before the drive was launched. A drone has also been deployed to monitor the situation.

Ahead of the drive, people in Jahangirpuri C Block voluntarily removed their belongings from roadsides, they said.

The area witnessed violent clashes, including stone pelting, arson and firing, between two communities during a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday. Eight police personnel and a local resident had sustained injuries.