On December 3, local authorities and police administration jointly targeted properties belonging to Muslim community in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh after the Bajrang Dal members protested and demanded a demolition drive. These demonstrations organised by the far-right group were led by Manuraj Singh, who amassed local residents and used “Land Jihad” conspiracy theory to portray Muslims as “illegal infiltrators”.
The local Hindutva leader alleged that the area was previously a Hindu cremation ground which was taken away by the minorities with the support of government-officials. He also accused Muslims of being Mafias who intend to grab temples, incineration places and properties of Hindus.
Justifying the bulldozer action, authorities replicated the similar statements without providing any adequate clue and advocated the autocratic steps which “emboldened” the extremist groups to continue on hate-speeches and invade Muslim owned properties through their jingoist propaganda.
Local Administration Declares “Demolition Plans”
After 2 days the authorities targeted Khutar area of Shahjahanpur and ruined several shops and small businesses belonging to the minorities. While attacking the properties to solve “traffic issues” several structures were razed around crossroads amid the bustling main market area on December 5.
Residents told local media that local shopkeepers were made to abolish their own settlements on police-order when the cops reached the spot, while SDM Sanjay Pandey said that the “bulldozer campaign” would continue to remove alleged encroachments in different parts of the city.
Rajghat Chouki and Gadiyana areas of Shahjahanpur had already been bulldozed in the past few months where temporary shops running under canopies were devastated while properly constructed buildings of Muslims were deliberately attacked, according to the victims.
In February, CM Yogi declared bulldozer action against alleged illegal plots in Shahjahanpur, while during 2023 a contractor dug up Dataganj-Bandayun road through bulldozer after a trivial dispute flared-up.
Unlawful Attempts
On November 13, Supreme Court laid down historic directives against the arbitrary cases of Bulldozer justice, labelling it as illegal and unconstitutional. A bench headed by justices’ B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan put a ban on destruction drives and threw light on its repercussions.
However, even after the guidelines the Hindutva parties and administrative roadmaps have not stopped the bulldozer.
