Bulldozer Raj Continues in Delhi; Shalimar Bagh Razed in Pre-Dawn Operation

New Delhi: The BJP government in Delhi has carried out another round of demolitions, this time in Shalimar Bagh in north-west Delhi on Sunday, under the stated pretext of removing encroachments. The operation began at around 4 am with heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces. Senior officers including DCPs and ACPs from multiple districts were present at the site.

Police said action would be taken against around 150 structures as part of a road-widening project, and that demolitions commenced only after notice periods had expired. Authorities maintained that the land in question was acquired in 1980 and that encroachers were being evicted. The entire area was placed under tight security as the demolition drive got underway. Residents had earlier approached both the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court against the action.

This is part of a series of demolitions carried out across the capital. Earlier this year, structures near the centuries-old Faiz-e-Ilahi mosque adjacent to Ramlila Maidan at Turkman Gate were razed — even as a petition filed by the mosque management committee against the demolition was pending before the High Court.

The Turkman Gate area carries a grim historical resonance. In April 1976, during the Emergency, slums predominantly inhabited by Muslims in this locality were demolished in the name of urban renewal under the direction of Sanjay Gandhi, son of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Around a hundred people who resisted the demolition were shot dead.