Day after, Delhi High Court stays Kathputli demolition, row over dead 2-year-old

The order also stated that in case premises of those found ineligible for relocation by the DDA have been demolished, such persons “shall not be physically removed from the demolished premises for a period of two weeks from today”.

Meanwhile, a family at the colony sought to draw a link between teargas shells used during Monday’s drive and the death of their two-year-old child.

Read | Eviction drive sparks fear, anger at Kathputli Colony

The child’s 25-year-old mother, Pooja, who was visiting her parents in the colony at the time of the demolition drive, said, “He was sick, with minor cold and fever. But it all got worse after the demolition… he couldn’t breathe properly after the police used teargas shells in the afternoon. I took him to Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital at night. He died today afternoon.”

She added, “I am helpless, I don’t know where to go… we are on the street with a dead child. I have given up.”

Pooja’s sister, Seema, 30, alleged, “Even we couldn’t breathe when they used teargas… Imagine the plight of a sick child. He got sicker… he threw up, got high fever and couldn’t breathe after that.” However, hospital officials, when contacted, could not confirm if there was any link between the teargas and the child’s death. Sources at the hospital further said that the post-mortem examination to ascertain the death will be conducted on Wednesday.

DCP (Central) M S Randhawa refuted the family’s claims, saying, “The family has not filed a complaint. Teargas wasn’t thrown in the area where they live. The child died of natural causes.”