Just a day after violence erupted in several cities of Uttar Pradesh, most notable Prayagraj and Saharanpur, the authorities decided to bulldoze several illegally constructed houses and properties, one of which belonged to the prime accused in the violence.

Hitting out at the government’s demolition drive in UP, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, mockingly calling him the “Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court”, saying that he can convict anyone and demolish anything.

While speaking at a public rally in Gujarat, Owaisi said, “The UP Chief Minister has become the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court. He’ll convict anyone & demolish their houses?”

The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) on Sunday brought in bulldozers and demolished the house of Javed Ahmed, who is a leader in the Welfare Party of India. Ahmed is the prime accused in the Prayagraj violence and has allegations of inciting riots against him.

The PDA has, however, said that the demolition of the house has nothing to do with the riots but has been done due to the illegal construction on Javed Ahmed’s ground floor. The authorities also issued Ahmed a notice regarding this in May, but received no reply, officials said.

Javed Ahmed is the father of Afreen Fatima, who is a former JNU student and activist. Fatima has been a part of many prominent protests, most notable the anti-CAA and NRC protests 2019 in Delhi, and the hijab ban protest, which included over 300 women.

The UP police also conducted a search of Ahmed’s property before the demolition, during which the authorities said that they found illegal guns and objectionable posters on his walls. The posters reportedly had objectionable comments against the honourable court.

Violence erupted in 14 states, including Uttar Pradesh, on Friday after the mosque prayers, when people rallied on the streets to protest against the comments made by Nupur Sharma against Prophet Muhammad. While some people demanded that Sharma be arrested for her remarks, many were heard raising slogans to hang her publicly.

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