Authorities have declared 186 commercial properties illegal and demolished 178 of them in Gujarat’s Bahiyal village in Gandhinagar on Thursday, temporarily sparing eight whose owners have approached the High Court. At 4 am on Thursday, bulldozers rolled into Bahiyal along with nearly 800 civic and police personnel representing the Gandhinagar civic administration, district police, and the state Roads and Buildings (R&B) Department. Officials deny any link between the demolition drive and the communal clashes during Navratri in the village, which is in Dahegam taluka, last month. The operation targeted structures identified as encroachments on the Right of Way (ROW), mainly shops located along two main roads. Officials confirmed to The Indian Express that the survey of encroachments began only in the first week of October — less than a week after the violence, which broke out on the night of September 24-25. “The plan was to clear illegal constructions last year, but the Gram Panchayat did not act, leading the taluka administration to take up the task,” a senior official said. The clashes reportedly began after a social media argument over WhatsApp statuses — “I Love Mohammad” and “I Love Mahadev” — escalated into confrontations allegedly involving more than 200 people. Shops and vehicles were set ablaze, stones were pelted, and around 61 people were arrested on charges including rioting, unlawful assembly, and arson. On September 26, even as over 200 police personnel and two companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) worked to restore order, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi performed an aarti with one of the communities. Gandhinagar Sub-Divisional Magistrat Parth Kotadiya, who supervised the drive, told The Indian Express, “The R&B Department had given notices to all these structures and sought documentation before finally carrying out this demolition. We have not demolished eight properties as we are awaiting the outcome from the High Court.” pAdditional Superintendent of Police Ayush Jain said there was “adequate police protection” during the demolition and that no resistance was faced as notices had been served in advance. By 1 pm on Thursday, the demolition drive had been completed, and debris clearance was underway.
