A 500-year-old dargah – Syed Abdullah urf Bhurai Shah – on Mathura Road near Nizamuddin Circle in New Delhi was demolished by the Public Works Department (PWD) on Saturday, April 1.
A large number of Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed to deal with the protest and for security. However, The Wire’s reporters did not see any protests. While administration said that the dargah structure had encroached on the footpath and thus stood illegally, employees at the dargah claim that the structure has been here much before the footpath was constructed.
The caretaker of the dargah was sent a notice to vacate a month before the demolition, but after consultation with the district magistrate, it was decided that the dargah authorities will move the wall back 7 feet, the dargah caretaker told The Wire.
The dargah was demolished despite the fact that authorities undertook this exercise.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here