Bulldozer rolls over murder accused’s house; wailing family members say, “Punish Sameer—why are you driving us onto the streets?”
कानून से ऊपर राजनीतिक बुलडोज़र, शाहजहांपुर में तोडा आरोपी समीर के परिवार का घर
Last Thursday, the house of Sameer Ali—an accused in a murder case—was demolished using a bulldozer in Shahjahanpur district, in the presence of a large police force, PAC personnel, and administrative officials.
The accused’s family members accused the administration of injustice, stating that the punishment should have been meted out to the accused himself, not the entire family.
Additional District Magistrate (Administration) Rajnish Kumar Mishra informed a news agency that the house demolished in the Kant Nagar Panchayat area was an illegal construction. He stated that the Nagar Panchayat had issued notices to the homeowners—Amiran, Naseem Jahan, and Salma—declaring the structure illegal and in violation of the Municipalities Act, 1916. Mishra explained that the notice required them to remove the illegal construction themselves within 10 days—citing Sections 178, 186, and 222 (6) of the Municipalities Act—and warned that failure to do so would result in the Nagar Panchayat taking action to remove the structure.
He noted that despite the issuance of notices, the concerned individuals provided no response. Consequently, the Nagar Panchayat requested police force and a magistrate to facilitate the removal of the illegal construction. The demolition operation is currently underway in the presence of police and administrative officials. He added that, in addition to adequate police personnel for security, officials from the fire department, ambulance services, and the Public Works Department are also present at the site.
Ishtiyaq, a relative of the accused Sameer Ali, told a news agency that the punishment should be directed at Sameer, not his entire family. He stated that four families reside in the house being demolished, and by tearing down the entire structure, the administration is forcing them onto the streets. Soni, Sameer’s aunt, said, “If Sameer committed a crime, he should be punished. Four other families live in this house too. Why was their home demolished? We want justice as well. We are poor people. We built this house through hard manual labor; where will we find the means to build it again? Are we supposed to live on the streets with our small children?” If anyone was to be punished, it should have been Sameer. He was living separately from us, and we were living separately too.
Sameer Ali, a resident of Kant town, had allegedly murdered Gautam Maurya (22) with a sharp-edged weapon on July 31 following a love affair. After the incident, the deceased’s family members and activists from various Hindu organizations had blocked the Paliya-Farrukhabad road. Maurya’s family had demanded that a bulldozer be used to demolish the accused Sameer’s house. Accordingly, Sameer’s house was demolished on Thursday as part of a bulldozer action.
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