Residents vacate shops after the public works department (PWD) pasted notices on the properties of some people asking them to remove illegal constructions and warning of action, in the violence-hit Maharajganj area of ​​Bahraich, UP, Saturday, October 19, 2024. | Photo Credit: PTI
Shopkeepers in Bahraich tried to save their goods on Saturday (October 19, 2024), holding a demolition drive by the authorities.
According to local MPs, the Public Works Department (PWD) has issued notices to 23 companies – 20 of them Muslim – to vacate their properties.
Also Read: Plea asks Supreme Court to stop UP dissolution
The action comes days after a 22-year-old Hindu man was shot dead in the district’s Maharajganj area during a communal incident.
BJP MLA from Mahsi, Sureshwar Singh said, “People are emptying their shops, which the administration will not deal with.”
Also Read: Two accused of killing a youth that sparked communal tension in Bahraich were shot dead in a police encounter
Of the shops he was told, “three belong to Hindus, while 20 are Muslim,” he said.
“In all, there are about 50 shops. If not for one or two, most of those in the Mahrajganj bypass may face action,” he said, adding that no one would be spared regardless of their religion.
Sonu Maurya, who runs a restaurant on rent, said he was asked by the landlord to vacate the shop and take away his merchandise before it was demolished.
“I have a shop in Bhagwanpur, eight kilometers away from Maharajganj. The owner of the land told me that the notice of the encroachment has been put in the construction and if the demolition takes place, I will suffer losses,” Maurya, who is on the way to Bhagwanpur, said PTI.
Samiullah, Sabina, and Rani Jaiswal, all local residents, claimed they were the chosen targets.
The PWD on Friday (October 18) conducted an inspection in the Mahrajganj area and measured 20-25 houses, including Abdul Hameed, one of the people accused of playing a role in the killing of Ram Gopal Mishra on Sunday.
An official on condition of anonymity said it was a routine exercise carried out every year “to demolish houses built at intersections, S-curves or intersection points on roads.”
The man said any illegal houses identified would be notified under the Roads Control Act 1964.
According to a notice posted at Abdul Hameed’s house, the PWD said the construction was “illegal” as it was built within 60 feet of the mid-point of a rural road, which is not permitted.
The notice asked Mr. Hameed to vacate the construction within three days or it will be demolished “and the costs incurred for this action will be recovered from you through the means of revenue.”
District Magistrate Monika Rani on Friday told reporters that the “encroachment” was removed to widen the road in Mahrajganj.
On Saturday, Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey stopped coming to Bahraich through a tip from the collector.
The Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly said he was told not to go to Bahrain because the situation could worsen.
“If something goes wrong, they will blame us. The organization also gave the same advice and the DM also asked me to come only after three days,” said Pandey.
On Friday, the UP Police had arrested 87 people in Bahriach in connection with the riots.
Ram Gopal Mishra was part of a Durga idol procession passing through Maharajganj area on Sunday when he was shot.
A video that went viral after the incident showed him tumultuously removing the green flag from the roof of his house and replacing it with a saffron flag. He was shot immediately afterwards.
The district was reeling for days after the killing with incidents of arson and vandalism witnessed across the region, forcing authorities to suspend the internet for four days.
Five people suspected to be involved in Mishra’s death were arrested on Thursday after an encounter with the UP Police where two of them suffered gunshot wounds.
The five are suspected to have fled to Nepal, which borders Bahraich.
They were identified as Mohammad Faheen, Mohammad Sarfaraz, Abdul Hameed, Mohammad Taleem alias Sabloo, and Mohammad Afzal.
At least 11 FIRs have been registered in connection with Mishra’s murder till Friday and around 1,000 people have been booked.
Circle Officer Rupendra Gaur, Tehsildar Ravikant Dwivedi, and District Information Officer Ghulam Waris Siddiqui were removed from their posts following the violence.
The station house officer and the police post in charge were suspended.
Published – 20 October 2024 09:35 IST
