New Delhi: The Bombay high court on Friday (July 19), while hearing petitions from Vishalgad residents after the recent incidents of communal violence and demolitions in the area, pulled up the Maharashtra government on lawlessness in the state and asked why it was demolishing houses during monsoon.
The court was hearing petitions related to the violence that broke out at the Vishalgad Fort in Kolhapur on July 14. Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati and his supporters had marched to the fort to protest against alleged encroachments in the area after which houses, shops and a mosque in the fort’s vicinity were vandalised.
A bench of Justices Burgess Colabawalla and Firdosh Pooniwalla said if any house is demolished then the court would not hesitate to send the responsible officers to jail, LiveLaw reported.
Watch | Maharashtra: Mosque, Houses Destroyed as Hindutva Mob Attacks Muslim Families in Vishalgad
Additional Government Pleader P.P. Kakade informed the bench that only commercial structures were being pulled down. “We aren’t even touching structures where a stay has been obtained from either this court or some other court,” Kakade added.
The court also directed Vishalgad police to appear before it after watching videos of the violence that ensued after the “Chalo Vishalgad” protest march.
“Where is the law and order Mr GP? These aren’t your officers, right? So who are these men? Are you not responsible to maintain law and order in the State? We want to know if any FIR is lodged in this matter,” the bench said to Kakade referring to the videos.
“We make it clear that any structure, we repeat any structure be it commercial or household, should not be demolished at all till further orders. If any demolition takes place, we will come down very heavily on your officers,” the court said.
Also read: ‘Couldn’t Recognise Our Own House’: Kolhapur Villagers Recount Communal Violence
The court directed senior police inspector of Shahuwadi Police Station to personally apprise the bench of the action he has taken concerning the violence.
The matter has been adjourned till July 29.
‘Protestors armed with iron rods assaulted residents’
According to the plea filed by Vishalgad residents Ayub Usman Kagadi, Abdulsalim Kasim Malang and Murad Mhaldar a group of protestors was allowed to climb the fort despite police presence and prohibitory orders, under the pressures exerted by Chhatrapati and a crowd of 2,500 odd right-wing activists, India Today reported.
The plea said that communal slogans were raised and the “police made a farce of controlling the situation long after several residents, including women and children, were mercilessly beaten by the violent mob, and several vehicles were damaged”.
It stated that the protestors were armed with iron rods and hammers and assaulted and pelted stones at residents during the attack. The petition also names Hindu Bandhav Samiti leader Ravindra Padwal who allegedly climbed the dome of the Hazrat Peer Malik Rehan Dargah and tried to demolish it.
