Garib Nagar demolition nears end; 19 arrested so far
WR says all illegal structures near Bandra station cleared
The five-day anti-encroachment exercise, which began on May 19, aims to clear nearly 5,200 square metres of railway land. (Express Photo) With Western Railway declaring that all illegal structures in Garib Nagar near Bandra East station had been cleared, police on Friday intensified their crackdown over the violence during the demolition drive, arresting three more people and taking the total number of arrests in the case to 19.
The Nirmal Nagar police said more than 100 people have been booked on charges including attempt to murder, rioting, unlawful assembly, assault on government officials and damage to public property after clashes broke out during the anti-encroachment operation earlier this week. CCTV footage is being scrutinised to identify more accused, while officials claimed several suspects had fled the city after the arrests began.
The violence erupted on Wednesday during the demolition of unauthorised structures near Gate No. 18 in Garib Nagar following a Bombay High Court order permitting the Railways to clear encroachments from nearly 5,200 square metres of railway land. According to the FIR, some residents allegedly hurled cement blocks and stones at police personnel during the drive, injuring four policemen.
Meanwhile, as the fourth day of the demolition drive drew to a close on Friday, Western Railway said 100 per cent of the illegal structures had been demolished. Technical staff continued manually dismantling unauthorised upper floors of around 100 “protected structures” identified during a joint survey conducted in 2021 by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC) and Western Railway.
Officials said nearly 50 per cent of the dismantling work on these upper portions had been completed and the remaining work was expected to conclude by Saturday afternoon. Workers were also engaged in shifting debris from the site before transporting it to a designated dumping ground.
While railway authorities maintained that the drive was being carried out in coordination with residents and with all safety precautions in place, several families living in the protected structures alleged that their homes had been damaged during the process.
“Instead of using manual labour as promised, authorities used large bulldozers to demolish the upper portions of my house, which caused the entire ground floor to get damaged as well,” alleged 40-year-old Ramzan Shaikh, whose family claims to have lived in Garib Nagar since the 1970s.
Several eligible residents also said they had temporarily vacated their homes because of the lack of electricity, water supply and constant disturbance around the demolition site.
“Our electricity and water supply have been shut for the past three days. Eventually, we had to move out temporarily,” said 45-year-old Rizwan Ahmed, adding that the prolonged disruption had become difficult for his elderly mother to endure.
Railway authorities, however, denied allegations of negligence and said all procedures were being followed carefully.
“We have implemented all necessary safety protocols to ensure that no one is injured or inconvenienced during the exercise. As for the upper portions of the protected structures, we had initially asked residents to dismantle them on their own. However, after they entrusted us with the responsibility, we held detailed discussions and coordinated closely with them before proceeding,” said Vineet Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer, Western Railway.
The demolition drive, which began on May 19, has involved deployment of more than 1,200 personnel daily, including officials from Mumbai Police, Government Railway Police (GRP), Railway Protection Force (RPF) and railway technical staff.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court dismissed a Special Leave Petition filed by the Garib Nagar Raihwasi Welfare Sangh Society challenging the Bombay High Court order permitting the demolition. Railway officials said the dismissal reinforced the legality of the anti-encroachment exercise.
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