Shaheen Bagh: How people protested anti-encroachment drive in Delhi? In pics

New Delhi, May 9: Hundreds of people including women protested in Shaheen Bagh on Monday over an anti-encroachment drive. People sat dharna in the area as soon as the SDMC officials reached the spot with bulldozers to carry out the exercise.

Protesters raised slogans against the BJP-ruled South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) as well as the central government and demanded to stop the action. Shaheen Bagh that falls under the central zone of SDMC, was the centre of protests and sit-ins against Citizenship (Amendment) Act in December 2019.

The sit-in was called off in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic had struck the city. "Our teams with bulldozers, trucks and police force have reached Shaheen Bagh to remove illegal encroachments there. Removal of encroachment is our obligatory function which we are carrying out," SDMC's Central Zone Chairman, Rajpal Singh told PTI.

Senior police officials were also present at the spot along with their personnel to provide security to SDMC officials carrying out the anti-encroachment drive in the area. "Police personnel have been deployed at the spot where the anti-encroachment drive is being carried out. This is being done to ensure that the concerned civic bodies can carry out their work without any hassle and with all safety," a senior police official said.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan slammed the drive and said, "People have already removed encroachments on my request. 'Wazu khana' & toilets outside a mosque here were removed in presence of police,earlier. When there are no encroachments, why have they come here? Just to do politics?"