Kariyamma Agrahara, a locality behind Mantri Espana apartment in Bellandur, saw a Sunday unlike any other.
Police officials hailing from Marathalli turned up with an excavator, to demolish the sheds at the migrant settlement located in that area. According to them, the land was privately owned and the huts were occupied by Bangladeshi nationals.
Video evidence of this incident has surfaced online. In the video the residents can be seen waving their documents, they claim that the illegal Bangladeshi residents used to live there but they have all left.
The ones left are all Indians, and they possess the necessary documents to prove their claim.
Approximately, 50 such rooms were demolished by excavators on Sunday morning, the number had risen to 100 by noon.
Despite showing their documents like Aadhaar card, voter ID, employee ID cards, to prove their nationality, the officials continued to raze the sheds to the ground.
The whole incident can be attributed to another video which was shared over Twitter.
Mahadevapura’s BJP MLA Arvind Limbavali, tweeted the video saying that the area was a site of illegal activity and that the environment was threatened due to lack of cleanliness.
Suvarna News released a report last week making the same claims of illegal Bangladeshi settlements.
“We did not get a prior intimation. The police came here with an excavator and began demolishing rooms. We were not even given the time to retrieve some of our items in the rooms. Why didn’t the police check our documents?” Munni Begum, a resident, was quoted byThe News Minuteas saying.
Munni Begum and her neighbours all work in upscale apartments surrounding the settlement, as security guards, housekeepers, cooks, cleaners and waste segregators.
The people living in these huts were originally from other parts of the country like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, and even from northern Karnataka.
Marathahalli police station, on Saturday, received a letter from The Assistant Executive Engineer of the BBMP’s Marathahalli sub-division, stating that Bangladeshi nationals have built illegal sheds, and the residents have consequently converted the area into a slum.
The letter sought police protection during the demolition process. The BBMP allegedly did not send any notice to either the landowner or to the people.
The Marathalli police, however, stated that a notice was sent to the landowner earlier this week.
On January 11, 2020, the landowner received a notice saying that that illegal sheds have been constructed in the area behind Mantri Espana apartment survey number 35/2 without any permission from the government.
“In these sheds, Bangladeshi nationals are sheltered outside the scope of the law, without providing any documents. By constructing sheds and providing illegal electricity, it is illegal to stay outside the scope of the law,” said the Notice.
Also read:Bengaluru: Over 1000 People Rendered Homeless After BBMP Demolishes Settlement