Prayagraj | Jagran News Desk: A day after the homes of two accused were razed in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur, the Yogi government's symbolic bulldozer on Sunday was moved to Prayagraj where authorities demolished the house of Javed Ahmad, alias Javed Pump, who has been identified as the main conspirator behind the violence that erupted in the city on June 10.
Videos posted by news agency ANI showed the officials of the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) razing down the outer walls and gates of Javed's house. The officials also entered his residence and some of the household furniture was brought out by municipal teams and placed on the road.
Watch here:
#WATCH | Demolition of the "illegally constructed" residence of Prayagraj violence accused Javed Ahmed still underway, after the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) earlier put a demolition notice at the residence. pic.twitter.com/CcpVgMaZso
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 12, 2022
#WATCH | Demolition of the "illegally constructed" residence of Prayagraj violence accused Javed Ahmed underway, after the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) earlier put a demolition notice at the residence. pic.twitter.com/p1okHrFyz7
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 12, 2022
The demolition began hours after the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) served a notice to demolish the residence of Javed Ahmad that was allegedly built without getting the requisite permissions. The PDA's notice was pasted on the gate of Javed's home in the city's Atala area, informing the residents that they must vacate the property by 11 a.m. today so that action can be taken.
#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: Posters & flags being taken out of the residence of Prayagraj violence accused Javed Ahmed, during the demolition drive. pic.twitter.com/8Ek11c7fCZ
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) June 12, 2022
The notice cites that the property has illegal structures which were constructed without taking the requisite permits and hence, in violation of several building and planning regulations. The PDA said Javed had failed to respond to the show-cause notice sent on May 5, and had not vacated the building, as ordered in another notice issued on June 9.
"The house was built without getting its map passed by the PDA. For this, he was issued a notice on May 10 and was told to present his point of view on May 24. On the said date, neither Javed nor his lawyer turned up. No document was presented in this regard, and hence on May 25, demolition orders were issued," the PDA official said.
The Atala area was purportedly the epicentre of the demonstrations against the inflammatory remarks on Prophet Muhammad made by now suspended BJP functionaries including Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal. Police allege that Javed Ahmad gave the call for the protests that eventually turned violent. He was arrested and booked under the Gangster Act.
Following the June 10 protest, PDA teams began identification of illegal constructions and encroachments in Atala and nearby areas in an apparent follow-up to warnings issued by police and administrative officials about illegal properties of rioters being razed. A day earlier, the properties of two people accused of rioting were demolished in Saharanpur where stone-pelting had taken place as well.
After violence over prophet remarks row, UP police out with bulldozer#up#Saharanpur pic.twitter.com/Hcs4JwM2mC
— Danish Khan Pathan (@DanishK43940888) June 11, 2022
Meanwhile, in a crackdown on the rioters, the Uttar Pradesh police have so far arrested 304 people from across the state. On Friday, people pelted stones at police personnel in Prayagraj and Saharanpur during protests after Friday prayers in mosques. At least four other cities witnessed similar scenes during the marches that were carried out to protest the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma.