According to the accused's brother, their house was legally constructed, and the Nagpur Municipal Corporation had acted out of 'revenge' by partially demolishing the structure on Monday, claiming it was unauthorised
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The brother of Yusuf Sheikh, an accused in the March 17 Nagpur violence, has alleged that the city's civic body initiated the demolition of part of their residence despite the family possessing all necessary approvals and documents.
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Ayaz Sheikh claimed that their house was legally constructed, and accused the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) of acting out of "revenge" by partially demolishing the structure on Monday, citing it as "unauthorised."
The demolition, however, was halted after the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court intervened following legal pleas filed by Yusuf Sheikh and Fahim Khan, an alleged mastermind of the recent communal clashes.
While civic authorities flattened the two-storey house belonging to Khan, stating it had been built illegally, the residence of Yusuf Sheikh in the Mahal Gate area was spared after the High Court ordered a stay on the action, PTI reported.
After the demolition was stopped, Ayaz Sheikh spoke to the media, reiterating his claim that the NMC's action was "revenge-driven."
"We had no involvement in the riots. This property has belonged to my father, and I have been its owner since the 1970s. We are law-abiding citizens, and Hindus and Muslims have lived together in harmony in this area," he stated.
Ayaz Sheikh further revealed that the family had received a notice from the NMC regarding the planned demolition of an "illegal" section of their building, which was affixed to the house wall on Saturday.
"I presented the property documents and the sanctioned building plan to the civic staff, who then asked us to bring them to the NMC office in Civil Lines for verification. However, when we arrived, officials refused to accept the documents," he claimed.
"Even then, we sent the documents via post. On Monday, when we once again visited the NMC office, we discovered that orders for demolition had already been issued," he added.
According to PTI, Ayaz Sheikh further alleged that once the civic body became aware that his family had approached the High Court for a stay order, the NMC escalated its demolition efforts, tearing down a portion of their house.
The High Court later reprimanded the NMC and stayed the demolition, but Ayaz Sheikh expressed distress over the financial and social consequences.
"We have suffered massive damage both financially and in terms of our reputation in society," he lamented.
As per PTI, the violence in Nagpur erupted following misinformation that a ‘chadar’ featuring religious inscriptions had been burned during protests organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The protests had been calling for the removal of Aurangzeb’s tomb in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in central Maharashtra.
(With inputs from PTI)
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