Of the several houses demolished by the Madhya Pradesh government in Khargone district to punish those responsible for the Ram Navami violence, one was built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Hasina Fakhroo, the house owner had received an amount of Rs 2.5 lakh from the government under PMAY and the building was completed around six months back. The district administration demolished the house using bulldozers on Monday saying that it was built on government land and was illegal, said Amjad Khan, the son of Fakhroo.

Khan said until 2020, the family was living in a kuccha house on the plot. In 2020, when approval came under the PM Awas Yojana, they built a pucca house. “We got Rs 2.5 lakh from the government and saved another Rs one lakh to get the house constructed, he added.

Talking to IANS over phone, Khan said his house was demolished despite a note on the wall that it was built under PM Awas Yojana. “On Monday morning, a team of municipal workers came with bulldozers. We requested them not to demolish our house but they did not listen and razed it within minutes.”

Documents with the family show that the house on Birla Marg was registered in the name of Hasina Fakhroo following the death of her husband who was the original beneficiary of the PM’s housing scheme.

This was among the 12 houses demolished by the district administration in the locality as part of a drive against illegal properties. In all, 16 houses and 29 shops were razed across four locations in the town following the clashes Sunday.

Asked whether the government officials had visited to verify the legality of the plot before the house was constructed and money was allocated, Khan said: “That time they did not say it’s a government land. Now, when we spent our hard earned money (including 2.5 lakh received through PMAY), they demolished the house saying it was built illegally.”

Meanwhile, amid the tense situation in Khargone city, the district administration, including the collector, visited localities to meet the people.

Situation in the Khargone city has been tense after a communal violence broke out on the occasion of the Ram Navami celebration. Following which, the state government has ordered for demolishing buildings of those involved in violence.

The state home minister Narottam Mishra addressing a press conference in Bhopal on Wednesday said, “So far, 70 people have been arrested and 20 more are being interrogated by the police.”