Prayagraj: The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) on Sunday demolished the house of the alleged mastermind of the June 10 violence here amid heavy police deployment. The building map of the house of the accused, Javed Ahmad, had not been approved by the PDA, according to an official of the agency.
The development comes a day after the illegal properties of two persons accused of rioting were bulldozed in Saharanpur, which witnessed stone pelting on Friday. "Javed Ahmad's house -- JK Ashiyana -- is located in the Kareli area of Prayagraj. Police personnel and a JCB machine reached the Kareli police station around 10.30 am and the demolition commenced around 1 pm," a senior PDA official said.
"The house was built without getting its map passed by the PDA. For this, he was issued a notice on May 10 and was told to present his side on May 24. On the given date, neither Javed nor his lawyer turned up. No document was presented as well, and hence on May 25, demolition orders were issued," he said.
Speaking to PTI, Superintendent of Police (City) Dinesh Kumar Singh said, "In the morning, some of Javed Ahmad's family members collected a few of their belongings and left the place through the back door. As of now, no one is inside the house." He said three machines, including two JCBs, were used for the demolition. The area around the house was cordoned-off before the demolition began, Singh added.
Also read: UP violence: Over 300 arrested, house of 'main accused' demolished in bulldozer action
Senior Superintendent of Police, Prayagraj, Ajay Kumar said the estimated value of Ahmad's house, which was demolished as per rules, is Rs 5 crore. During the demolition, he said, the police also searched the house and found many objectionable items which were seized. These will be included in the investigation.
The items recovered from the house include two country-made pistols and several live cartridges. Apart from this, some papers were recovered in which objectionable remarks have been made by Ahmad on the courts, he added. Kumar said several books were also found during the search and they were being looked into. All the flags, posters, banners and papers found so far will be thoroughly investigated to ascertain the intention behind them.
According to police, Ahmad is the alleged mastermind of the stone pelting that took place here on June 10 after protests against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad made by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma spun out of control.
A mob set on fire a few motorcycles and carts and also attempted to set ablaze a police vehicle. Police used tear gas and lathis to disperse the protesters and restore peace. A policeman was injured in the violence. SSP Kumar said on Saturday that Ahmad had been arrested and was being interrogated.
On Friday, protests were also held in at least four other cities of Uttar Pradesh. The row over the remarks against Prophet Mohammad escalated last week as several Muslim countries denounced them, prompting the BJP to suspend Sharma. (PTI)
