New Delhi: In a tragic turn of events, Vakil Hassan, the man who had recently emerged as a national hero for spearheading the rescue operation of 41 construction workers trapped hundreds of feet under the collapsed Silkyara Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi last November, lost his home to a demolition drive by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).In less than 27 hours, Hassan and his team of rat miners rescued 41 people after digging and ploughing through hundreds of tonnes of concrete with simple tools, a feat that couldn’t be achieved by the best engineering minds for 17 days with all their cutting edge machinery failing to make a significant dent. This was followed by an extraordinary thriller-like televised rescue operation catapulting Vakil and his little known team of poor rat miners into national headlines. Both Prime Minister Modi and President Droupadi Murmu had praised the team of rat miners for their bravery. Today, Vakil, his family, and his friends feel lonely and betrayed.Vakil and his wife, Shabana, were not at their residence when DDA officials arrived in the neighbourhood. “They knocked at our door and said that they are our neighbours, but I didn’t open it,” said Aliza, Vakil’s daughter.“They were talking rudely. I told them that papa is not here right now. Then they told me to open the door. When I didn’t open the door, they said that they’ll break it. I asked them to wait for papa. But they broke into the house. They hit my brother and took him away. Papa was also taken to the police station and they also took away his phone. When Munna Qureshi uncle tried to stop them, they slapped him.”The Wire reached out to the local police but they remained unavailable for a comment.Vakil alleged that he was not served a notice by the DDA and that Manoj Tiwari, the BJP MP from Northeast Delhi, and other senior leaders of the BJP had promised him to save his home. “I didn’t seek any reward for what we did. I just wanted my home and even that has been taken away from me.”Shabana suspects that Vakil was targeted for his Muslim identity.“They didn’t target the adjoining homes.How should I see it? Racism?…Did they break Vakil’s home because he’s a Muslim? Had he been some Sanjay, Rakesh or Ram, the government would have readily given him a job, admission to his kids in a good school, they’d have built a new home for him, or maybe they’d have erected a statue in his name. However, they have even snatched the roof over my husband’s head.”In its press release, the DDA has claimed that the adjoining house had a legal stay order.In its press note, the DDA has clarified that at no point of time, before or during the demolition exercise, were the DDA officials aware about the recent contribution of Vakil Hassan in the rescue operation of the workers trapped in the Uttarakhand tunnel.“Late in the evening, when this fact came to light, the DDA officials, after having made alternate arrangements for shelter to Vakil and his family, went on site and contacted him. However, Vakil refused to avail any relief measure so offered and demanded a permanent house either at the same location or at any location in the same vicinity,” the press release read.A day after the demolition, Hassan sat near the remains of his razed house with his family in protest, The Hindu reported.According to the newspaper, the DDA said that an anti-encroachment drive was conducted in the same area in 2016 when a house built illegally by Hassan was razed.However, in 2017, the urban found that he had reconstructed the house in the same area. Multiple attempts were made to demolish the encroachment in 2018 and 2022, but each time Hassan’s family members prevented the demolition through the use of force, said the newspaper.Hassan told the daily that he bought this land in 2012. “I had spent my entire savings and put in a lot of work to build this house. My children grew up here. This was our home. I don’t deserve this,” he said.He demanded that the land be returned to him. “I had bought this land for Rs 33 lakh in 2012. I still have to pay Rs 12 lakh on the loan,” he added.The DDA falls under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.Hitting out at the central government, Aam Aadmi Party leader and Delhi cabinet minister Atishi said, “I appreciate the help that L-G has offered to Mr. Hassan, but this was not the only house demolished by the DDA and other Central government agencies for Delhi. For the past few months, bulldozers have been run over many homes belonging to poor people.
