'Anti-Encroachment' Drive in Gujarat's Himmatnagar After Ram Navami Clashes

Earlier, a similar demolition drive was carried out in Anand district's Khambhat.

After Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, a demolition drive against allegedly illegal encroachments was carried out in Gujarat's Himmatnagar on Tuesday, 26 April, where communal violence had broken out on Ram Navami.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

After Delhi and Madhya Pradesh, a demolition drive against allegedly illegal encroachments was carried out in Gujarat's Himmatnagar on Tuesday, 26 April, where communal violence had broken out on Ram Navami.

The demolition drive was carried out by the municipal body in the Chhapariya locality of the Sabarkantha district, wherein bulldozers were used to raze alleged illegal settlements. A large number of police personnel were deployed in the area, news agency ANI reported, citing Chief Municipal Officer Navneet Patel.

Earlier, a similar drive was carried out in Anand district's Khambhat.

One person was killed and some others sustained injuries after communal clashes erupted in Gujarat on 10 April, on the occasion of Ram Navami. Violence was reported from Himmatnagar, Dwarka, and Khambhat.

In Himmatnagar, stone pelting was reported during a Ram Navami procession in the Chhapariya area, while some miscreants had set some vehicles ablaze, as per the police. Further, 10 police officers, including the superintendent of police, were also injured.

Five days later, several shops were demolished by bulldozers in Khambhat on 15 April. Subdivisional magistrate of Khambhat's Anand district, Nirupa Gadhavi, called the shops "unauthorised structures" that were creating hurdles in commuting. The officials had called the drive "a routine exercise."

In Madhya Pradesh's Khargone, where similar clashes had broken out between two communities on Ram Navami, the district administration on 13 April demolished at least 16 houses and 29 shops, mostly owned by members of the Muslim community, citing their involvement in stone pelting and clashes.

In Delhi's Jahangirpuri, where communal violence had ignited on 16 April during a Hanuman Jayanti procession, the MCD had razed a number of shops and structures during a demolition drive on 21 April.