Demolitions destroy more than just homes, say activists, question legal basis of bulldozing offenders properties

The trend of demolishing properties of alleged criminals and rioters has put the spotlight on hardships suffered by their immediate family members, while social activists and a section of politicians have raised questions over legality of such punitive actions.

In the last few months, Madhya Pradesh has seen a number of instances where people accused of involvement in heinous crimes and violence have seen their unauthorized houses and shops being swiftly bulldozed by government agencies.

Earlier this month, the Bhopal district administration demolished the illegal house of a bus driver who allegedly raped a minor girl, a nursery student of a renowned private school.

After the driver was arrested by the police, officials from the local administration reached his two-room temporary home in Ajay Nagar in the state capital and flattened it without giving any opportunity to his family members to shift to some other place. The family alleged no prior notice was given before pulling down their home.

An official involved in the demolition job justified the action, saying the structure was illegal so we demolished it.

But a social worker, who wished to remain anonymous, asked, How did this illegality come to notice of the administration only when he committed a crime? Where were they when the house was being constructed? Authorities should have given a thought about the drivers family members, including his wife and two minor girls, besides parents who are now without a roof on their head, he said.

We are now forced to live with our daughter and son-in-law in the Kolar area. Nobody is listening to us. We have been rendered.

No notice was given to us (before demolition). They just came around 5 pm and asked us to leave the place immediately and demolished the house, the accused drivers 52-year-old father told

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