‘Criminal activity’: Minority panel slams BMC for razing portions of Jain temple

The city civil court had on April 7 rejected the temple trust’s plea against any demolition action. It had however granted interim protection from demolition for seven days for the trust to file an appeal in Bombay High Court, that expired on April 15 – a day prior to the incident.

Minority commission chairperson Pyare Ziya Khan said that the BMC’s move of taking action came out of anticipation.

“The BMC had signed its order for demolishing the structure on April 15 night itself, while ideally they should have done it the next day, which means that they (BMC) were waiting for the relief period to get over,” Khan told The Indian Express.

“The structure was situated inside a compound and it was not on any public space. As a result, there was no argument that the temple was coming in the way of any development project. We have asked the BMC to file their reply and have also asked our members to carry out an inspection. Our verdict will be delivered in the next hearing,” he added.

Hearing the complaints that were filed against the civic authorities, the minority commission chaired by Khan said that the demolition drive was nothing less than a “criminal activity” and asked the BMC to file a reply stating why a criminal offence should not be registered against the officials. The chairperson also ordered an immediate inspection of the site.

The commission also took cognisance of the BMC’s decision to demolish the structure in the early morning and sought a written statement about how many illegal structures have been demolished at such a time till now.

The commission also instructed the police to assist the temple trustees in filing a complaint against the stolen items from the temple.

Meanwhile, following the hearing, civic officials held a meeting on the next step of this issue. During the meeting, state minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha and Parag Alavani were also present. Alavani is also the legislator under whose jurisdiction the location of the temple falls. Lodha on Tuesday also held a meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on this issue.

While the BMC officials who were present refrained from making any comment on record, an official said, “The BMC has submitted its statement to the commission and will act and co-operate accordingly as per the commission’s demands.”

Politicians across party lines had criticised the civic body for the demolition. Days after the incident, the BMC had transferred assistant municipal commissioner Navnath Ghadge from the K/East ward. Areas like Andheri East and Vile Parle fell under Ghadge’s jurisdiction.