Demolition slugfest intensifies, Delhi High Court comes down heavily on Railway ministry and police
New Delhi: A case of death due to negligence has been lodged by police probing loss of life of a toddler in a West Delhi slum cluster demolished by railways even as political slugfest over it intensified on Monday with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserting that no such razing will be allowed without rehabilitation.
Stepping into the demolition row, the Delhi High Court came down heavily on the Railway Ministry and police for razing the slum cluster and directed the authorities to immediately rehabilitate over 5,000 people rendered homeless in this biting cold.
Amid AAP’s offensive against the Centre and Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal held a 30-minuted meeting with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu where ways to remove encroachment of land belonging to the railways was discussed threadbare.
As the slum-dwellers braved cold and hunger, Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi descended at the demolition site and targeted both AAP government and the Centre and assured the homeless that he will fight their “battle”.
The post-mortem report of the six-month-old girl said she died due to shock and injuries on chest and head due to impact of blunt force and mentioned about fractures in ribs and head. The report said the toddler died 30 hours before the autopsy indicating she might have died around 9.30 am.
Residents of razed slum fight hunger: A muezzins call to prayer, standing amid the ruins of what was a ‘mosque', echoed across the area, punctuated with the voice of civil defence volunteers, informing people of arrangements for food, rice dipped in dollops of lentil. Shakur Basti residents, in the eye of a political storm over a demolition drive, struggled to stand up on their feet even as netas continued to make their way through the remains of the shanties, trudging past wailing toddlers and infirm elders.
AAP hits back at ‘child’ Rahul: As a political slugfest broke out over slum demolition issue, AAP on Monday hit back at Rahul Gandhi alleging such actions were also carried out under Congress rule while Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called him a “child.” Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi, who said that both Kejriwal government and Modi government were responsible for the situation after visiting the site, AAP leader Ashutosh said his statements reflect the reasons behind Congress’ defeat in Lok Sabha polls.
