Child Did Not Die During Demolition Drive: Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu

The Delhi government has also ordered for a magisterial investigation into the demolition case of slums in Shakarpur.

Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken also said that Kejriwal should have intervened while the drive was underway on Saturday and not afterwards.

An inquiry has been ordered into the incident, though Railways has denied the charges, saying the baby died before their action against the slum-dwellers.

He said there is no link between the demolition drive and the death of the child.

Talking to reporters, he said, “A child has died here. Heart rending scenes. How cud our own countrymen do this to our poorest fellow countrymen (sic)”.

CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury added: “How can authorities resort to mindless demolition leading to the death of a child, leaving slum dwellers to suffer, roofless in winter?” The six-month-old girl, they claim, died when a piece of furniture fell on her while the shanties were being bulldozed. The children were sleeping. “Our friends in the TMC and JD(U) will do the same in Rajya Sabha since we don’t have any representation there”, said a party spokesperson. “We badly require the Shakur Basti land to build a new railway terminal which will take away load from existing terminals”. “And most importantly, these transgressions have entered into our “15 km from centre of track” security zone which is a big danger to incoming trains besides posing accident risk to the slum residents themselves”. There are clear instructions that there will be no unauthorised structure.

“When we build huts, they break it after 3-4 months”.

Delhi’s ruling AAP government on Sunday had also accused the Centre of “selective targeting” in carrying out anti-encroachment activities, and said “god will not forgive” those who have rendered “hundreds of people homeless” in biting cold. “They did not arrange the same, so have suspended them”, Kejriwal said in a series of tweets.

In his letter to Prabhu dated December 1, Kejriwal assured that the Delhi Government will extend “full” co-operation for providing flats constructed under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for relocation of JJ dwellers. “He was also shocked”.