By Aftab Ahmed

NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – India’s Supreme Court is expected to rule soon on whether demolition of shops within residential areas on New Delhi’s outskirts are legal. However, Mohammed Akbar believes that any decision will be too late.

Police say that they are trying to take down illegal stores in Jahangirpuri. There were clashes between Hindus and Muslims over weekend close to a mosque.

India’s top court stopped the bulldozers from entering on Wednesday. However, Akbar’s shop that sold cigarettes and cold beverages was also destroyed.

“They stole my only source for earning. “How will they feed their children?” “How will I feed my children?” asked the father-of-3. “I have debts to repay and how can I fund clothes for my children in Eid?” Akbar added that Akbar’s daily earnings are below $5

Along with other Muslims living in the region, he suspects that authorities are punishing people they believe were involved in recent communal violence. Akbar claimed he wasn’t involved in clashes and has owned his Jahangirpuri shop for 20 years.

On Saturday, residents reported that fighting broke out when Hindu worshippers with knives and sticks moved through the area as part of a Hindu religious festival. At most 20 individuals were detained.

Demolition drives have followed similar clashes elsewhere in India, critics saying that they are an attempt of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to intimidate India’s 200 million Muslims.

Vinit Goenka (a BJP spokesperson) said that the demolitions had nothing to do with religion or retribution.

He said that the Indian penal procedure code deals only with rioters, while the municipal law addresses illegal structures or illegal construction when he was asked about his criticism. Name and religion are not asked when implementing laws.”

Goenka stated that those who attack peaceful celebrations need to be punished.

“A message needs to be sent as required by law to rioters regardless of language, community or religion.”

Authorities claim that the buildings being demolished are caused by obstructions to streets and paths. The commissioner of municipal corporation of Delhi was responsible for this oversight.

Justice for All

On Wednesday, hundreds of officers in riot gear and armed with tear gas canisters, batons, guns, and batons deployed in the vicinity to clear out illegal structures.

The country’s highest court intervened on Wednesday and asked that demolitions be stopped until further notice. Two weeks will pass before the Jahangirpuri trial is heard.

Many families from low income areas live in the northwest Delhi area. Some residents complained about the difficulty of worshipping freely during Ramadan Islamic holy month.

We have been held in our alleys since the last four days. Police have restricted our movements during Ramadan. Mohammed Ishtiyaq said, “We can’t even go to prayer,” from a gate locked in a residential alley near the main mosque.

The narrow streets of Jahangirpuri are home to marginalized Hindus and Muslims. A dozen shops, including one Hindu-owned shop were destroyed by the court before it intervened.

The region was tranquil during violent riots which erupted in India in 2019/2020. It occurred in one of the worst communal conflicts in India for decades, over Modi’s controversial citizenship law. Muslims said it discriminated against Muslims.

Residents are now afraid that these tensions will reach them.

Unidentified imam claimed that his mosque was destroyed during the clearance.

Through the mosque’s gate, the man said: “Justice should not be equal for all. They have broken parts and not touched the Mandir.” He was referring to the Hindu temple nearby.