Charred vehicles, destroyed lives: A glimpse into the Mathura mayhem | Pics

After a 72-hour search operation, the Mathura administration opened the gates of Jawahar Bagh to the media on Sunday afternoon, offering a glimpse of the destruction caused during Thursday’s violence.

When fires broke out amid the violence at Jawahar Bagh park in Mathura on June 2, it burned down two years of fortification than just encampments.

The Jawahar Bagh is in tatters after Thursday’s clashes. (Antram/HT Photo)

Free movement was possible once again from Sunday after police opened the gates to the park following clashes between police and park squatters that led to 27 deaths.

Inside, the remains of a movement that kept strong for more than two year, claiming to be ‘true’ followers of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, are now charred vestiges.

After a 72-hour search operation, the Mathura administration let media though on Sunday afternoon, offering a glimpse of the destruction.

Burned out vehicles and utensils lay on the ground as the acrid smell of chaos hung in the air.

A look at ground zero, or rather what remains of it.

Read: Who is Ramvriksh Yadav and what is his role in Mathura violence?

Read: Fire burns out in Mathura but political smoke shrouds UP after clashes

What would have otherwise been full of fruit and leaves, are now hollow, blackened trees, a reminder of the fire and violence that quickly spread in Jawahar Bagh park on Thursday night. The mayhem ensued when police attempted to evict squatters from the park and retaliated to an attack from them. (Antram/HT Photo)

Among the hollow, burned out vehicles are Tata Safaris, Toyota Innovas, trucks, tractors, mini-DCMs and motorcycles. But more disturbing than the empty vehicle shells are the many slippers and shoes that indicate the stampede that followed when chaos broke. (Antram/HT Photo)

The squatters – members of a little-known armed sect – claimed they were followers of freedom fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and campaigned for a bizarre set of demands, including scrapping elections and the Indian currency. (Antram/HT Photo)

The Swadhin Bharat Vidhik Satyagrah members squatted in Jawahar Bagh park for over two years, building a self-sustained unit inside the 280–acre government park, growing vegetables and even devising their own justice system. (Antram/HT Photo)

Hundreds of burnt cylinders and utensils litter the ground while foodgrains are scattered askew. (Antram/HT Photo)

Clothes, bags and books are amid the rubble, presumably used by the children who lived with their families there. There were also burnt documents with bank account details and addresses of those staying in Jawahar Bagh park. Literature related to Bose was also found all over the place. (Antram/HT Photo)

Police descended on the encroachers late on June 2 after a court ordered their removal. But the squatters – who had a cache of arms with them – allegedly opened fire on the force and killed two senior police officers, including the city superintendent of police. (Antram/HT Photo)

Th shooting triggered clashes and rioting inside the park. More than 100 people were hurt in the melee. (Antram/HT Photo)

As police piece together information on the group, the picture that emerges is that of a rag-tag organisation which coalesced around a cult hailing Bose as their hero and a warped view of the world. (Antram/HT Photo)

‘Jai Hind, Jai Subhash’ seems to have been their motto. The group were led by Ramvriksh Yadav, presumed dead, who forged a militant outfit. The group sought to indoctrinate and give arms training to local teenagers, seeking to replace the present-day political system with their own vision of a Bose-inspired Utopia. (Antram/HT Photo)

For about two years, the Jawahar Bagh park was home to this organisation, that essentially squatted on government land. Locals said their mornings began with messages on loud speakers from inside the park. Residents around the area often called them land grabbers and thugs. (Antram/HT Photo)

A part of their makeshift micro governance included big vehicles like tractors that carried goods like rice to the families spread across the park. (Antram/HT Photo)

They built a self-sustaining unit, growing vegetables – mostly potatoes – inside the park. No one, not even police, was allowed inside. For every 10-15 hutments, the group also built toilets. (Antram/HT Photo)

The group demanded doing away with a Prime Minister and President because they perceived the parliamentary system as a hand-me-down from the British colonial rulers. (Antram/HT Photo)

Those occupying Jawahar Bagh park had arranged for electricity, despite it having being disconnected by the administration. Solar panels and huge batteries were also found. (Antram/HT Photo)

(Antram/HT Photo)

In the debris, slogans advocating their ideologies were found. (Antram/HT Photo)

With Uttar Pradesh inching towards the 2017 assembly election, political parties are attempting to leverage the Mathura violence to gain from it. (Antram/HT Photo)

Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati demanded the resignation of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, while BJP chief Amit Shah called for public works department minister, Shivpal Singh Yadav, to resign. (Antram/HT Photo)