In the early hours of Wednesday, a demolition drive carried out by the municipal authorities near the century-old Faiz-e-Ilahi Mosque in Delhi’s Turkman Gate–Ramlila Maidan area turned tense after local residents protested against the action. As the situation escalated, police resorted to the use of tear gas and detained 10 people. Five police personnel sustained minor injuries in the alleged stone-pelting during the unrest.
According to the Delhi Police, the demolition exercise was being conducted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in compliance with directions of the High Court. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nidhin Valsan said that around 25 to 30 people pelted stones at the police team, forcing the authorities to use tear gas to bring the situation under control.
“The situation is now completely under control. A banquet hall and a dispensary have been demolished. The operation was carried out at night to ensure minimum inconvenience to the general public,” the DCP said, adding that strict action would be taken against those allegedly involved.
Police said an FIR has been registered against unidentified persons under sections related to rioting, assault on public servants, and obstruction of official duty. Interrogation of the 10 detained individuals is currently underway.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range) Madhur Verma stated that coordination meetings had been held with the local committee and stakeholders prior to the operation. “Despite all precautionary and confidence-building measures, some miscreants allegedly attempted to disturb the situation. The situation was brought under control with minimal use of force,” he said.
According to the Delhi Police, the area was divided into nine zones to maintain law and order, each supervised by officers of additional DCP rank. Around 20 bulldozers were deployed in the operation. Police claimed that normalcy was restored in the area shortly after the incident.
The demolition was carried out at a time when the matter is still sub judice. On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court sought responses from the MCD, Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Ministry of Urban Development, Public Works Department (PWD), and the Delhi Waqf Board on a petition filed by the management committee of Masjid Syed Faiz-e-Ilahi.
In its petition, the committee stated that it has no objection to the removal of encroachments but sought the court’s intervention to protect the graveyard adjoining the mosque. The committee claimed that the mosque and its associated structures are more than 100 years old, the land falls under the Delhi Waqf Board, and lease charges have been regularly paid. According to the petitioners, the proposed action could damage religious and community facilities, particularly the graveyard.
Justice Amit Bansal described the matter as “worthy of consideration” and directed the concerned agencies to file their replies within four weeks. The next hearing is scheduled for April 22.
Notably, in its order dated December 22, 2025, the MCD had declared structures built over more than 0.195 acres of land as illegal and liable for demolition, including the mosque. The action follows a High Court order of November 12, 2025, which granted three months’ time to remove alleged encroachments measuring approximately 38,940 square feet near the Ramlila Maidan area close to Turkman Gate.
