NEW DELHI — The demolition of nearly 100 homes in a Muslim-majority settlement in western state of Gujarat has triggered outrage and legal action after local authorities denied ordering the operation, leaving displaced families asking how such a large-scale bulldozer drive could unfold in the presence of police without official authorisation.
The demolitions took place between May 30 and June 1 in Nasirnagar, an informal settlement in the Katargam area of Surat, Gujarat’s second-largest city and one of India’s major industrial and textile hubs. Residents said bulldozers flattened homes without prior notice, forcing dozens of families into the open and destroying possessions accumulated over years.
The episode has since evolved into what residents and opposition leaders have described as a “ghost demolition” — an operation carried out in broad daylight, allegedly in the presence of uniformed police officers and municipal personnel, yet one for which no government department has publicly accepted responsibility.
Families living in Nasirnagar questioned how an exercise of such scale could proceed without the knowledge or approval of the state machinery. Residents said women and children pleaded with officials as excavators tore through homes, while police personnel remained at the site.
The Surat Municipal Corporation has denied conducting the demolition and said it has initiated an inquiry to determine who authorized the action. Municipal authorities maintained that civic officials present in the area had only been carrying out land demarcation and road measurements.
The municipal commissioner suggested that the land belonged to a private entity and that another party may have used heavy machinery to remove the structures. The explanation, however, has done little to ease suspicions among residents, who argue that the presence of police during the operation raises serious questions about official complicity or acquiescence.
Even leaders from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party acknowledged the unusual nature of the incident, noting that no demolition order had been issued by the civic body and that no official record of such a drive existed. They questioned how homes could have been razed if the legally empowered authority had not sanctioned the action.
One of the affected residents, Ajij Husain Shaikh, has approached the Gujarat High Court, alleging that the demolitions were carried out without legal authorization and in violation of due process protections. The case is expected to be heard this week.
The opposition Congress has demanded an independent investigation, arguing that the destruction of nearly 100 homes could not have occurred without the knowledge of senior officials. Party leaders said repeated requests for clarity over who ordered the operation have gone unanswered. — Muslim Network TV
