Ahmedabad: Around 50 teams of the Ahmedabad civic body equipped with earthmovers launched a massive demolition drive on Tuesday to clear 2,000 illegally built houses and properties from the Chandola Lake area, days after illegal Bangladeshi immigrants were detained from these settlements.

Around 2,000 policemen and 20 companies of the State Reserve Police (SRP) are deployed in the area, considering the scale of the exercise, officials said.

Deputy Municipal Commissioner BC Parmar said out of nearly 2,000 illegally built houses and other properties identified for demolition, 50 per cent of the work was completed by noon.

A top police officer said authorities have also razed the illegal farmhouse of Lalu Pathan alias Lallu Bihari, the alleged mastermind behind encroachments on the government land at Chandola Lake, on the banks of the water body.

According to police, Pathan had helped illegal Bangladeshi immigrants get rental accommodation and Aadhaar cards.

The state government had said that out of 890 suspected persons detained from Chandola Lake area by the Ahmedabad crime branch on April 26, “over 150 are found to be Bangladeshi nationals during document verification”.

In a boost to the drive, the Gujarat High Court on Tuesday declined to stay the action after observing that the dwellings of the petitioners were situated on the periphery of the water body. As per section 37 of the Land Revenue Code, such structures can be razed by the government.

Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sharad Singhal said the municipal corporation launched the drive early in the morning by deploying 50 teams, each equipped with an earthmover machine.

Police Commissioner GS Malik told reporters that all police stations in the city were put on alert to deal with any eventuality in view of the demolition drive near Chandola Lake, a Muslim-dominated area.

While the drive was underway, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reached the police commissioner’s office and took stock of the situation, a government release said.

The meeting was attended by MoS for Home, Harsh Sanghavi, Additional Chief Secretary to the CM, MK Das, Director General of Police, Vikas Sahay, police commissioner GS Malik, and AMC commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani.

Singhal pointed out that the last demolition drive at Chandola Lake was carried out in 2009.

“Recently, a survey conducted by the AMC revealed that government land had been encroached upon again and shanties were constructed around the lake. Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants lived in areas like Siyasatnagar and Bengali Vaas surrounding this lake,” he said.

Malik said 2,000 policemen, along with 20 companies of the SRP, were deployed to assist the AMC in clearing illegal constructions in areas including Siyasat Nagar and Bengali Vaas.

“Police across the city are put on alert. Strict action will be taken if anyone tries to take the law into their hands,” Malik said.

He claimed members of the minority community living near the lake favoured action against illegal Bangladeshi immigrants.

Malik said Lalu Pathan alias Lallu Bihari, the alleged mastermind behind encroachments, had helped illegal immigrants get accommodations using bogus rent agreements and procured Aadhaar cards.

“It is also suspected that some people in the area had also acquired passports,” he added.

As per an FIR registered by the crime branch on Tuesday, Pathan, his son Fateh Mohammad Pathan, and six others were involved in electricity theft, providing illegal electricity connections to settlers, misusing electricity bills to prepare rent agreements and collecting rent from illegal houses.

Pathan and others, who are still at large, are booked for theft, criminal breach of trust, cheating and forgery.

“Nearly 2,000 illegally built houses and other properties were identified for demolition, and 50 per cent of the work was completed by noon,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner BC Parmar said, adding that since Chandola Lake is a water body, no construction is allowed around the lake.

Meanwhile, the government said “decisive steps” are being taken to stop “illegally entered Bangladeshi nationals from committing any anti-national activity on Indian soil”.

In 2023, four Bangladeshi nationals were arrested from different parts of Ahmedabad under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for alleged links with Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), the government stated.

A day before, DGP Sahay had said around 450 Bangladeshi nationals were found to be residing illegally in Gujarat after police launched a crackdown and detained nearly 6,500 undocumented people who are suspected to be citizens of the neighbouring country.

On Tuesday, Justice Mauna Bhatt of the high court refused to stay the demolition drive after observing that since the petitioners are “illegal encroachers”, relief from demolition cannot be granted to them.

The demolition drive was challenged by 18 residents alleging that occupants were not issued prior notices. They claimed to be migrants from UP, Bihar and West Bengal and have been residing in Chandola Lake area since the 1970s.

The petitioners argued they had all necessary documents such as ration cards, election ID, and Aadhaar cards, and detention of their family members on suspicion of being Bangladeshi citizens was illegal.

As per a government affidavit filed in the court, the area around Chandola Lake has reportedly become a hub for illegal activities like flesh trade, narcotics trafficking, and even harbouring extremist elements.