A day after BJP leader Mohan Yadav took charge as Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, his government demolished the homes of three Muslim men accused of attacking a BJP worker. This is the first such bulldozer action under the new dispensation.
According to the police, on December 5, Devendra Singh Thakur, the Mandal General Secretary of the BJP Jhuggi Jhopri Cell, reportedly faced a sword attack from one Farukh after an argument over election results.
After the incident, senior BJP leaders visited Thakur at the hospital and organised demonstrations, urging stringent action against the accused.
Apart from Farukh, police have arrested four other Muslim youth identified as Aslam, Shahrukh, Bilal and Sameer.
On Thursday, bulldozers demolished the residences of three of the men, as officials alleged that they lacked the necessary permissions under the building plan.
“We demolished the homes of the three men accused in the case after violations were found. The men got into a violent confrontation after they taunted each other over the election results. Farukh has a criminal record and charges under the NSA (National Security Act) have been slapped against him,” Indian Express quoted Manish Raj Singh Bhadoriya, the in-charge of Habibganj police station, as saying.
Madhya Pradesh has repeatedly witnessed the BJP government arbitrarily demolishing the homes of Muslims under the pretext of crime prevention.
BJP governments in India face accusations of demolishing numerous homes and businesses owned by Muslims, a practice Muslim groups and rights activists term as “selective targeting” of Muslims accused by the police of criminal activities.
Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan was dubbed”Bulldozer Mama” by his supporters, a play on the title “Bulldozer Baba” attributed to his counterpart Yogi Adityanath in neighboring Uttar Pradesh.
On his government’s inaugural day, Yadav issued an order prohibiting loudspeakers/DJs at religious gatherings and public places from exceeding prescribed volume limits. He also announced an ‘intensive campaign’ to curb the ‘illegal buying and selling of meat, fish, etc.’ On Thursday, government authorities demolished approximately 10 meat shops.
