Bulldozer & forces reach Delhi's New Friends Colony, day after Shaheen Bagh stir

A day ago, passive protests were seen in Shaheen Bagh when civic body officials reached the spot with bulldozers, following which the demolition drive was halted.

Security personnel on Tuesday were deployed at New Friends Colony as the South Delhi Municipal Corporation's (SDMC) began its planned demolition drive. According to latest updates, a bulldozer was being brought to the area for the anti-encroachment exercise.

A bulldozer being brought to New Friends Colony in South Delhi on Tuesday. (ANI Twitter)

The BJP-run civic body was carrying out the first phase of the anti-encroachment exercise from May 4 to May 13 in several parts of South Delhi.

An anti-encroachment demolition drive was also underway in Mangolpuri by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC). AAP MLA Mukesh Ahlawat said he was against the drive and that the exercise should be stopped. “When people have vacated the area, why are they (North MCD) creating inconvenience to them by using bulldozers by surrounding them. We are against it and it should be stopped. They need to prove first that there's encroachment,” Ahlawat was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

A day ago, massive protests were seen in Shaheen Bagh when civic body officials reached the spot with bulldozers, following which the demolition drive was halted. The local MLA belonging to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had also joined the agitation staged by the locals.

Later, the Supreme Court asked petitioners, one of them being the Delhi unit of the CPI-M, to move the high court as it refused to entertain a plea against the anti-encroachment drive.