The Dibrugarh district administration in Assam razed the home of a man on Tuesday who is suspected of encouraging businessman Vineet Bagaria to commit suicide.
Bagaria was discovered dead on July 7 at his home. According to reports, police accused four people — Baidulla Khan, Nishanth Sharma, Sanjay Sharma, and Izaz Khan — of abetting Bagaria suicide. Izaz Khan and Nishanth Sharma are missing.
According to B Pegu, the district deputy commissioner, construction regulations were broken while the house was being built. He also claimed that the “Structure was unstable and could have fallen at any time. We demolished it under the Disaster Management Act in the larger interest of the public.”
Despite the fact that it is against the Indian law to destroy someone’s home as a form of punishment, this trend has been often seen in states where the BJP is in power. Most of the houses that were demolished during this situation have been Muslims.
In an open letter to Chief Justice of India NV Ramana on June 20, a group of retired public workers complained that the concept of “bulldozer justice” was becoming a norm throughout the nation.
The letter stated that “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. It added “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 July 9, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the Bagaria family and expressed regret for the police’s lack of response to their accusations of harassment against the four individuals. “Mafia came here despite your presence. I have never been more ashamed,” He further added, reprimanded the local police officers.
Sarma enquired if the region as to whether Bagaria resided was Dhubri or Goalpara, both of which have a significant Muslim-majority population.