Lucknow/Bahraich: Fearing demolition of shops in the violence-hit Maharajganj area of Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh, shopkeepers started vacating their shops on Saturday morning, pictures of which were also shown on news channels.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA from Mahsi confirmed the development and said that the administration will take action against those who do not vacate their shops. However, Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly Mata Prasad Pandey demanded a high-level judicial inquiry into the incident and strict action against the culprits.
BJP MLA from Mahsi Sureshwar Singh told PTI on Saturday, “People are vacating their shops. The administration will take action against those who do not vacate their shops. Singh said, according to the notice issued against the shops in the first phase, among the shops which are to be demolished, three are of Hindus and 20 are of Muslims.
Action will be taken against those shops which violate the prescribed norms, whether they are Hindu or Muslim. In the second phase, it remains to be seen how many such shops will be affected. There are about 50 shops in total. Barring one or two shops, action can be taken against most of the shops on Maharajganj bypass.
Sonu Maurya, who is working in a rented shop, said, I have a shop in Bhagwanpur, eight kilometers away from Maharajganj. The landlord told me that an encroachment notice has been put up on his shop. If the shop is demolished you will suffer loss. So it is better that you vacate the shop. So we are going to Bhagwanpur with our luggage.”
Another shopkeeper alleged that after measurement last year, the shop was left after being told that the standard was 28 feet, but this time a notice of 60 feet standard was received. He also alleged that there are hundreds of shops in the town, so why is action being taken against only 23?
Local residents Samiullah, Sabina, Rani Jaiswal also expressed their pain while protesting against the unilateral action. Meanwhile, the Public Works Department inspected 20 to 25 houses in Maharajganj area on Friday, which included the house of one accused Abdul Hameed.
On the condition of anonymity, an official said that about 20 to 25 such illegal houses have been identified in Maharajganj, to which we are going to issue notices under the Road Control Act 1964. District Magistrate Monica Rani said here on Friday that road widening work is to be done in Halmahrajganj, hence action will be taken to remove encroachment. For this, work is being done at the level of Public Works Department and Tehsil Administration.
Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly and senior Samajwadi Party leader Mata Prasad Pandey was about to leave for Bahraich on Saturday to visit the incident site but he was stopped from doing so, advance information of which was given to him in Lucknow itself.
Pandey told ‘PTI-Bhasha’, ‘I was supposed to go to Bahraich on Saturday but before that I was sent a notice that I cannot go there. Earlier this notice came through the city police station in-charge with the signature of the District Magistrate. Now a notice came from the District Magistrate that if you come here (Bahraich) the situation will get worse.
On Sunday, violence broke out in Maharajganj of Mahsi tehsil of Bahraich district due to loud music being played outside the religious place during the Durga Puja procession, in which Ram Gopal Mishra (22) was shot dead.
After this incident, vandalism and arson started in the area and the mob set fire to many houses, shops, hospitals and vehicles.