New Delhi: At least five police personnel were injured after violence erupted during an anti-encroachment drive near a mosque close to Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi.
The operation targeted unauthorised constructions on land near Turkman Gate, adjoining the Syed Faiz Elahi Mosque and a nearby burial ground. Tensions escalated when a group of local residents allegedly resorted to stone-pelting at civic officials and police teams overseeing the drive. In response, the police deployed tear gas to disperse the crowd and restore order.
A senior police official, Nidhin Valsan, told news agency PTI that the eviction was carried out during the night to minimise inconvenience to the public. He said those involved in the violence would face appropriate legal action and added that the situation was currently under control.
The MCD deployed 17 bulldozers to remove the encroachments, acting on a Division Bench order of the Delhi High Court issued in November 2025. The court had granted the civic body and the Public Works Department (PWD) a three-month deadline to clear 38,940 square feet of encroached land at Ramlila Maidan, near Turkman Gate.
The civic body has maintained that all structures beyond 0.195 acres—the area on which the mosque stands—are unauthorised and liable to demolition. In December, the MCD informed the court that neither the mosque’s managing committee nor the Delhi Waqf Board had produced documentary evidence establishing ownership or lawful possession of the additional land.
According to officials, the encroachments included portions of public roads, footpaths, a parking area, and a private diagnostic centre. MCD teams had inspected the site and marked the encroached areas on January 4.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Union Ministry of Urban Development, the MCD, and the Delhi Waqf Board, seeking their responses to a petition challenging the demolition order. The MCD has stated that 0.195 acres of land were leased in February 1940, and that no action has been directed against structures falling within the leased area.
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