Local administration, railway officials and a large number of police personnel reached areas regarded as “sensitive” near the Shri Krishna Janmasthan in Mathura early in the morning and started demolishing over 100 homes in the Nai Basti neighbourhood, which has a predominately minority population and was allegedly "illegally developed on government land."
Although residents received notices, the matter was brought before the civil court, and the next hearing is set for August 21. Despite the fact that the case is still pending, locals reported that the demolition work continued all day. Over 135 houses have been designated for demolition.
Rajesh Kumar Saini, lawyer for the affected families, said, “After getting notices from the railways, we had filed a petition in the civil court (senior division) in Mathura. Thereafter, the court issued a notice to the railways seeking a response on the matters raised by us. Last month, the authorities sought additional time to file a response, which has not happened so far. Despite the matter being subjudice, the demolition is being carried out illegally.”
Divisional work engineer of railways, Nitin Garg, disagreed. “Structures illegally constructed on railway land are being removed following due process. The land is required to transform the line from Mathura to Vrindavan from narrow gauge to broad gauge.”
The Shri Krishna Janmasthan is adjacent to the Shahi Idgah mosque, the ownership of which is being challenged legally.