Twitter War Over Demolition Of Accused's House In Prayagraj, Students' Body Condemn Action

A day after razing down homes of two of the accused in Uttar Pradesh's Saharanpur over violence over recent remarks by former BJP spokespersons on Prophet Muhammad, bulldozers today rolled down in Prayagraj under heavy police presence and started demolishing the home of a politician accused of leading violence on Friday.

Demolition drive in UP

Visuals shot by news crews showed bulldozers razing gates and outer walls of accused Javed Mohammed, a Prayagraj-based politician, who, the police claim is one of the "masterminds" behind the Friday violence in the city. There was major stone-throwing in at least two Prayagraj localities and it took the police over five hours to restore peace.

Javed has been named as a key conspirator in the protests that erupted in Prayagraj against former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's remark on Prophet Mohammad.

Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) had put a demolition notice at Mohammad's house, asking him to vacate the house by 11am today. The demolition notice said the house was “illegally constructed”.??

BJP supports bulldozer drive

Amidst the ongoing violence that erupted across several states over remarks against Prophet Muhammad, many BJP leaders tweeted in support of the demolition drive initiated in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP leader CT Ravi tweeted, "RIOTERS and STONE PELTERS understand only one language - BULLDOZERS & BULLETS."?

Even?BJP MP Gautam Gambhir questioned silence of 'secular liberals' over death threats to Nupur Sharma.

Students association condemns action

Showing support, Students Islamic organization in a statement said that that they stand firmly with Javed Mohammad and his family members, calling his arrest and demolition of his home “another example of communalism and authoritarianism of the police and administration”.

“They can break our homes, but they can never break our resolve. We will continue to fight against their efforts to humiliate Muslims and polarise the country. We hope that the judiciary will put a halt to this blatant bulldozing of rule of law before it's too late,” the statement read.

Akhilesh Yadav too tweeted (in Hindi) against the drive, saying, “Where is the justice that those due to whom the situation in the country worsened and there was a strong reaction around the world, they are under security, and peaceful protesters are punished by bulldozers without legal investigation.”“It is not allowed by our culture, neither religion, nor legislation, nor constitution,” he added.

Mohammad's daughter and activist Afreen Fatima, however, has reportedly claimed in a letter to National Commission for Women that her family members were detained without warrant.

PDA teams started identification of illegal constructions and encroachments in Atala and nearby areas in an apparent follow-up of warnings issued by police and administrative officials about illegal properties of rioters being targeted following the Friday’s violent protest.

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