Assam’s Dibrugarh district administration on Tuesday demolished the house of a man accused of abetting the suicide of businessman Vineet Bagaria, ANI reported.
Bagaria was found dead at his residence on July 7. The police accused four persons – Baidulla Khan, Nishanth Sharma and Sanjay Sharma and Izaz Khan – of abetting Bagaria’s suicide, according to India Today NE. Nishanth Sharma and Izaz Khan are absconding.
On Tuesday, bulldozers demolished Baidulla Khan’s house in Dibrugarh.
District Deputy Commissioner B Pegu claimed that construction guidelines were violated while building the house, ANI reported. “Structure was unstable and could have fallen at any time,” he claimed. “We demolished it under the Disaster Management Act in the larger interest of the public.”
While there are no provisions under Indian law to demolish the home of anyone accused of a crime as a punitive measure, this pattern has been regularly observed across BJP-ruled states. Most of those whose houses have been demolished in this manner have been Muslims.
On June 20, a group of former civil servants remarked in an open letter to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana that the idea of “bulldozer justice” was becoming a norm in the country.
“It is the fact that the very idea of the rule of law, of due process, of being treated as ‘innocent until proven guilty’ is being turned upside down,” the letter had stated. “There is a sense of impunity and the arrogance of majoritarian power which seems to be driving this disregard for constitutional values and principles.”
On Sunday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma apologised to Bagaria’s family, ANI reported. “I’m really ashamed,” he said. “Mafia came here despite your [police and administration’s] presence. I have never been more ashamed.”
Sarma asked if the region where Bagaria lived was Dhubri or Goalpara – two of the Muslim-majority districts in Assam.
“My mind is not able to comprehend whether I am hearing of an incident in Assam or in Jammu and Kashmir,” the chief minister said, reported the Hindustan Times. “This is just one incident. There may be many Baidullahs roaming around here.”
Responding to Sarma’s statement, the Congress accused him communalising the killing.
“Our chief minister tries to communalise everything,” said Leader of Opposition in Assam Debabrata Saikia. “In this case there are four accused: two Hindus and two Muslims. But Sarma targets just one accused who happens to be a Muslim.”
Saikia said that Sarma’s comments threatened democratic values and the state’s cultural ethos.
“Criminals cannot be branded based on their religion,” he added. “This sends a very wrong message to one community.”
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