Bengaluru: 32 sheds of migrants razed in Munekolalu

Days after the high court ordered the government to compensate victims thrown out of their homes after the BBMP illegally cleared their huts, about 35 sheds of migrant labourers were demolished at Munekolalu in east Bengaluru on Thursday.

Hundreds of people, mostly migrant labourers from north Karnataka, Odisha and Assam, lost their homes, as a group of more than 50 people came to the migrant labourers’ colony near Vagdevi school at Munekolalu.

“They came around 8.30 am. Some were armed with sticks. Without warning, they moved the excavator and threatened people to move out before bringing down sheds,” said Kalimulla, an activist said.

According to the Marathalli police, there is a civil dispute between Naveen Reddy and Narayan Reddy, and the case is pending before the court.

Naveen Kumar Reddy owns around 20 guntas of land in Munekolalu, even Narayan Reddy owns some land. Narayan Reddy allegedly claims that 20 guntas of land belongs to him and Naveen says it is his land.

Naveen had rented the land to the labourers of Orissa and West Bengal. Narayan Reddy got angry as Naveen was getting the rent money and took JCB’s and demolished the sheds on Thursday.

A senior police officer from Whitefiled sub-division said based on a complaint by Naveen Reddy, 10 accused, including Sandeep, Nagesh, Vikki, Deelip, Saleem, Maishawak, Mahendran, Srinivas, Karthik and Basavaraj, have been arrested. They all are localities. The police have seized three JCBs and two bikes.

Zia Nomany, an activist from Swaraj India, said the entire incident involves a sinister plan.

“I counted 32 houses demolished. Two migrant labourers – Raju and Chinnu – said the miscreants branded them Bangladeshis and abused them. We went to the police station to register a case on their behalf. The miscreants called us as Bangladeshis,” he said.

Nomany said the entire incident reeks of a cocktail of religious hatred and land mafia. “Instead of following the legal procedure to evict the migrants, the miscreants have taken law in their own hands,” he said.