Riot hit Jahangirpuri was a scene of destruction, despair and helplessness on Wednesday after an “anti-encroachment” drive by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) left the area’s shops in ruins, and its residents, mostly Muslims, without their source of livelihood. Apart from the shops, the area’s revered Jama Masjid’s gate and boundary walls were also destroyed during the drive.
As the bulldozers drove at around 10.15 a.m. towards the area’s C-Block, where most of the Muslim residents live, and began razing the makeshift kiosks and shops lining the road opposite Kushal Cinema, shopkeepers were left picking up whatever remained in the aftermath of the destruction. While some of the shops were partially damaged with the razing of their roofs and outer walls, most temporary structures were completely destroyed.
