Turkman Gate Demolition Drive: Tension gripped parts of Old Delhi in the early hours of Wednesday after civic authorities, backed by heavy police deployment, reportedly began a demolition drive targeting alleged encroachments adjoining a century-old mosque near Turkman Gate.
The operation, originally scheduled to commence at 8 am, began unexpectedly at around 1.30 am. According to reports, videos circulated in residents’ neighbourhood groups showed bulldozers and earth-moving machines tearing down structures, while companies of police personnel stood guard.
Turkman Gate Demolition Drive: Clashes And Stone Pelting
According to a report in HT, videos showed police firing what appeared to be tear-gas shells as groups of people pelted stones at security personnel moving through the area. NewsX could not independently verify the authenticity of these videos nor the HT report.
HT quoted a senior Delhi Police officer, who confirmed that at least five police personnel were injured during the clashes.
Petition In High Court Regarding Mosque Near Turkman Gate
The demolition was carried out even as the Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, issued notice on a petition filed by the managing committee of Masjid Syed Elahi. The petition challenges the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) decision to remove alleged encroachments from land adjoining the mosque and the nearby kabristan at Ramlila Maidan.
Madhur Verma, Joint Commissioner of Police (Central Range), has told ANI that the demolition drive was conducted in compliance with court directions.
#WATCH | Delhi | Morning visuals from the area near Faiz-e-Elahi Masjid, Turkman Gate, where MCD, pursuant to the directions of the Delhi High Court, carried out a demolition drive on an encroachment yesterday. pic.twitter.com/NihxNZgnAn
— ANI (@ANI) January 7, 2026
“Pursuant to the directions of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi, the MCD carried out a demolition drive at the encroached area in the vicinity of Faiz-e-Elahi Masjid, Turkman Gate, near Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, in the early morning hours of January 7,” Verma told ANI.
He added that extensive law-and-order measures were put in place to ensure the operation proceeded without disruption.
“In order to ensure smooth conduct of the demolition programme and to maintain public order, comprehensive law and order arrangements were put in place by Delhi Police,” he said.
Attempts to Maintain Peace Before Turkman Gate Demolition Drive
Prior to the demolition drive, several coordination meetings were held with members of the Aman Committee and other local stakeholders, with the objective of maintaining peace and preventing any untoward incident. All possible preventive and confidence-building measures were undertaken, according to Central Range Joint Commissioner of Police, Madhur Verma.
Verma said police had held several coordination meetings ahead of the demolition with members of the Aman Committee and other local stakeholders.
“These meetings were held with the objective of maintaining peace and preventing any untoward incident,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that tensions flared during the operation. “During the course of the demolition, a few miscreants attempted to create disturbance by indulging in stone pelting. The situation was promptly brought under control through measured and minimal use of force, ensuring that normalcy was restored without escalation,” Verma said.
(With inputs from ANI)
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
