As the residents of a migrant settlement in east Bengaluru’s Munnekola were preparing for their day’s work on Thursday, 13 February, their morning was interrupted by a crowd of 30-40 men, allegedly bearing sticks and swords, who asked them to get out of their homes.
While they tried to question the men who allegedly kicked and stomped their way into their homes at around 9:20 am, three JCBs were in motion and within 20 minutes, 25-30 one-room huts had been razed to the ground. It was only when Marathahalli Police reached the spot, residents claim, that the rampage ended.
According to the Marathahalli Police, a tussle between two land-owners who owned adjacent plots, and one of them trying to take over the other’s land led to the razing. 10 people have been arrested, four two-wheelers and three JCBs seized in the case.
An FIR has been registered at the Marathahalli Police Station under Sections 427 (destruction of property), 441 (trespassing) and 141 (unlawful assembly) of the IPC. Cops said that the total damage is to the tune of Rs 30 lakh.
Last month, panic had gripped a settlement in Bellandur, after approximately 100 homes of a migrant settlement were razed on an alleged anti-Bangladeshi drive, done by the cops and city corporation officials. Since then, migrant colonies of make-shit huts that dot this part of the city have been living in fear.
‘No Time to Save our Belongings’
22-year-old Hussain, a resident of the settlement for the past two-and-a-half years, said that all the residents were caught unawares by the mob that turned up in the morning. He originally hails from West Bengal.
“They all had big sticks, and had big swords as well. They were pushing people out of homes and kicking down walls. They took me by the neck and pushed me out of my house, asking me to get out. They were not prepared for a conversation, they were just pushing people out of homes as the JCBs started demolishing the huts. Many of us have lost money, mobiles, documents and things.”Hussain, 22
Sabina, 45, couldn’t stop crying as she sat in the rubble, all her things scattered around her. She had moved into her hut only three days ago after she was evicted from her previous lodging.
“I was not even at home when they broke it down. I was working in someone’s house. I came home to find my things destroyed and dumped. I had Rs 20,000 at home that I was saving to send home to Kolkata, and several saris and new blankets, expensive ones. It’s all gone,” she said, adding that she lives alone in Bengaluru.
Residents Are Daily-Wage, Domestic Workers
This settlement in Munnekola, like other migrant colonies, primarily housed daily-wage labourers, domestic workers and people working in the hospitality sector as cleaners, cooks and guards.
Brothers Janbabu and Mosaref Sekh, both employed as garbage collectors with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), said that they were at work when the demolition took place.
“Whoever was at home got hit, others lost their things. We leave for work at 5-6 am and return only late in the afternoon. We got frantic calls and ran back. They did not spare even a cloth. I can’t even find my documents. They took everyone’s things and dumped it an open drain,” said Mosaref, 19-years-old.
Kajal, a 25-year-old migrant from Odisha said that her six-month-old baby and husband were injured when the men came.
“They came and started pulling things out, pushing us around. I had two phones, for work, that I had saved up and bought for work. They broke both. I don’t even have any wearable clothes for myself or my family. I’ve lost many documents, and I can’t find my Aadhaar card. What are we supposed to do?” she asked.
With nowhere to go, many of the migrants said that they would shift the women and children to a friend’s place or make some other arrangements till they amass the money to find alternative lodging.
Activists Blame Senior BJP Leader
Activists from Swaraj India, who helped the migrant workers get medical treatment and accompanied some of them to the Marathahalli Police Station, said that some of the men detained had said that ‘they had been sent by Aravind Limbavali’, the local MLA and senior BJP leader.
“We are very sure that this has been done on his orders. Last time too, he tweeted a video and spread fears over NRC, NPR,” said Zia Nomani, a member of Swaraj india.
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