Work on wall near IGI sparks violence

The Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd’s (DIAL) attempts to build IGI’s boundary wall by blocking a part of the crucial road that links Dwarka and the international terminal led to violent protests from residents of Shahbad village who would have been worst hit by the closure of this road.

Late on Monday night, agitated villagers set on fire contractor’s four vehicles, including a JCB. Villagers alleged policemen entered their homes and beat them up, while cops said they just acted to control the situation as 11 personnel got injured after the mob pelted stones at them.

The police had to fire tear gas shells and 20 rounds in air to control the mob. The wall being built on a road near the Shahbad railway crossing, claim the villagers, would force them to take much longer routes to the city.

On Tuesday evening, DIAL admitted that the contractor had committed a mistake as the road was not to be blocked. ‘‘This road has been opened and would be strengthened,’’ said a senior DIAL official.

But this admission came after hours of high-voltage drama. The crisis started about 11 pm on Monday. Villagers alleged they had some indication of the authorities starting the construction work for the boundary wall at night.

‘‘We were sitting peacefully and local police assured us that the boundary wall would not be constructed. But when the work started, some unidentified youngsters started attacking the JCBs. We were there to protest and not to take law in our hands,’’ said an eyewitness, who did not want to be named.

According to Shradhanand Saini, who was present at the spot on Monday night, people started running to their homes as the JCBs caught fire. ‘‘At that point, the police entered our village. They broke open our houses and beat up whoever they got hold of. They did not try to find out why the developer was constructing the boundary wall at night,’’ Saini added.

Later in the morning, villagers sat on a dharna at the railway crossing. Arjun, a labourer from Rajasthan who was also injured, said: ‘‘Cops beat us up and five of my room mates have been detained.’’

Villagers said this was not the first time when the developer tried to construct the wall at night. They pointed out that two other access routes to the village from Mahipalpur and Bijwasan have already been blocked.

‘‘We will force them to give us the right of way, which is our fundamental right. We have given the land at lesser price for the airport and now they are troubling us,’’ said Rukmini Devi, a villager.

- Times of India

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