An act of 'revenge' by Nagpur civic body: Brother of riots accused on demolition drive

Nagpur: The brother of Yusuf Sheikh, an accused in the March 17 communal violence in Nagpur, on Monday alleged the civic body started demolition of a portion of their house despite the family having all sanctions and possessing documents for the building.

Ayaz Sheikh claimed the house of his brother was built legally and termed the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) action to demolish its balcony, on the ground that it was "unauthorised", as an act of revenge.

The demolition was stayed after the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court intervened following pleas by Yusuf Sheikh and Fahim Khan, an alleged mastermind behind the communal violence.

While the two-storey residence of Khan was flattened by civic authorities who claimed it was constructed illegally, the house of Yusuf Sheikh in the Mahal Gate area was spared after the HC intervened and stayed the bulldozer action.

After the demolition was stopped, Ayaz Sheikh, while speaking to the media, alleged the NMC action was undertaken with an intention to take "revenge".

"We had no involvement in the riots and this property belongs to my father and I am owner of this property since the 1970s. We are law-abiding citizens and Hindus and Muslims stay together here," he said.

Ayaz Sheikh said they received a notice from the NMC about the planned demolition of the "illegal" portion of the building and it was pasted on Saturday on the house wall.

"I showed them (civic staff) property documents and sanctioned building plan. They told us to bring the documents to the NMC office in Civil Lines for verification. However, when we went there they refused to take the documents from us. Even then, we sent the documents to the NMC via post. On Monday, we again went to the NMC office, but by that time they had already issued orders for demolition," he said.

Ayaz Sheikh claimed when the civic body came to know his family has approached the HC and sought a stay, the NMC intensified its demotion work and razed a portion of the house.

The HC reprimanded the NMC and stayed the demolition, but "we have suffered a huge damage in terms of money and respect in society," he added.

The riots in Nagpur erupted after misinformation circulated about the burning of a 'chadar' featuring religious inscriptions during protests organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanding the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra.