On 20th May (Wednesday), violent scenes broke out in Garib Nagar, a densely populated slum and a Muslim-majority neighbourhood in the Bandra east of Mumbai, during a demolition drive. It was mandated by the Bombay High Court on 29th April after a 9-year-long legal battle. The locals threw stones at the police team and other officials conducting the anti-encroachment operation of Western Railways within the jurisdiction of Nirmal Nagar Police Station.
They also shouted slogans, hurled utensils, buckets of water, bottles and other objects at the authorities as well as railway employees. Police had to use lathi-charge and apprehend multiple people, including youth and women, to disperse the aggressive mob. 7 cops were wounded, and 10 accused were nabbed after the attack. First Information Reports (FIRs) are registered, and strict measures have been warned against the perpetrators.
Around 60% of the demolition is completed, as almost 300 houses and other constructions, including an unlawful mosque close to Bandra East station, have been successfully removed. Additionally, the number of machines is increased to ensure that the task is concluded within the designated timeframe.
The campaign was assigned to nearly 1,200 security personnel and staff comprised of 250 Railway Protection Force (RPF) and 200 Government Railway Police (GRP) officers, along with 500 from the Mumbai Police and 250 workers from different railway departments. The number stood at 1000, a day earlier. An eyewitness reported that the assault transpired after a portion of the mosque was destroyed. 50-60 people assembled to voice their objection, disregarded repeated requests to calm down and began stone pelting, after which police had to intervene.
Bandra, Maharashtra: A demolition drive is underway in the Garib Nagar area of Bandra to remove illegal constructions near the station, including an unauthorised religious structure. Police resorted to a lathi charge to control the crowd after some individuals created a ruckus… pic.twitter.com/8wggwXwIeA
— IANS (@ians_india) May 20, 2026
A heavy police presence is currently established to prevent any untoward incident alongside fire brigade teams, barricading arrangements, ambulances and police vans outside the impacted part. The administration continued to raze the settlements and dispose of the debris.
The 5-day action plan to dismantle 500 illegal structures and liberate 5,300 square metres of occupied property was commenced on 19th May. According to other reports, over 700 unlicensed slum dwellings are located along the overbridge that leads to Bandra’s east side. There are even 5 or 6-story tall units along the railroads.
The people have been informed beforehand to leave their houses to prevent any issues amid the important exercise. Vineet Abhishek, the Chief Public Relations Officer for Western Railway, indicated that efforts are underway to supply basic amenities to the affected persons. Bottled drinking water and food packets are distributed as needed.
“On the first day (Tuesday), we completed 20% of the work while today (Wednesday), we completed 60% of the work. The judgment stated that seven days from the ruling, we were to take appropriate action,” he outlined.
#WATCH | Mumbai: Western Railway conducts an anti-encroachment drive in Garib Nagar, Bandra (East).
— ANI (@ANI) May 19, 2026
This drive is being carried out in coordination with the civic administration, police officials, and railway security agencies to ensure that law and order are maintained pic.twitter.com/kGHEj9utey
Western Railway stated that approximately 100 individuals were found to be eligible for rehabilitation in surveys performed in August 2021. Alternative accommodation is scheduled to be provided to them. The remaining facilities are regarded as unauthorised intrusions on railway territory.
“Muslim land mafias had encroached illegal slum and now, after the direction of court and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, action has started. Land jihad will not be tolerated in Mumbai,” expressed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya.
The purpose of the long-pending decision
The critical expansion of the Western Railway, the installation of more stabling lines, the development of an integrated railway complex and other related programs are going to be initiated in the area. The 5th and 6th railway lines on the Santacruz-Mumbai Central corridor are expected to be extended via the cleared ground, which is around 500 metres long and hugs the rails. It is vital for the Rail Land Development Authority’s (RLDA) commercial advancement.
This will facilitate the functioning of 50 new trains that originate from Mumbai, alleviate acute suburban movement congestion, improve the connection between Bandra suburban station and Bandra Terminus as well as separate local and long-distance trains. It will also positively boost the commercial progress of the adjacent railway land.
Vineet Abhishek conveyed, “The demolished land will be part of the Bandra Integrated Railway Complex. This newly cleared land will help expand the Bandra Railway Station, allowing 12 additional trains to run on the new tracks. These maximum encroachments cannot hold the city hostage.”
The authorities mentioned that the step is essential for track safety as well, since incursions and trash dumping put train services at risk. The high court also took note of these concerns while approving the move. Moreover, Mumbai is simultaneously moving forward with major infrastructure upgrades, such as the setting up of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train station at the adjoining Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
The link between Garib Nagar and actor-turned Congress MP Sunil Dutt
Interestingly, many illegal inhabitants of Garib Colony were heard remembering late actor Sunil Dutt, who later transitioned into politics and became a member of the Indian National Congress, because he had stopped a similar drive earlier. “Today if Sunil Dutt was here, no one would have been able to touch or move us from here,” Mid Day quoted a man.
Another recalled how the locality had continually relied on promises and protection from specific political parties, echoing, “We were safe only because we voted for Sunil Dutt.” Similarly, a person claimed, “When they come to us for votes, we the ‘unauthorised’ people become authorised. Every politician, MP and MLA used to come here seeking votes, but now that we are being pushed out of our homes, no one is here to help.”
We were safe only because we voted for Sunil Dutt: Garib Nagar resident shares his ordeal amidst Western Railway's demolition.#Bandra #bandraslum #garibnagar #westernrailway #mumbai #mumbainews pic.twitter.com/csTykLBcqN
— Mid Day (@mid_day) May 19, 2026
“During elections, Bandra MLA Varun Sardesai told us that if residents of Garib Nagar faced any problem, we should come to him and he would solve it. We have Aadhaar cards, PAN cards and voter IDs, yet the demolition happened without any survey. Who are we supposed to go to for help now,” accused a local. Sardesi is from Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) of Congress-led I.N.D.I. Alliance.
Politicians need us only when they want votes. Don't dare come to us now- a frustrated #GaribNagar resident speaks with #MidDay#breakingnews #mumbai #mumbainews #bandraslums pic.twitter.com/sN8Uwp08ce
— Mid Day (@mid_day) May 19, 2026
Dutt, who joined Congress in 1984, encountered severe criticism for his undue endorsement of impermissible slums. He won his Mumbai north-west parliamentary seat for the 5th time in 2004, but a strong section of his supporters in the Bandra-Khar-Juhu turned away from him, reported The Times of India. The dissenters outlined that he never tried to halt the growth of these prohibited communities, which intruded on public spaces. Their anger was also reflected in the results as his margin was cut in half from 85,500 in 1999 to 47,000 in that year.
Vidya Vaidya, a Cityspace committee member, argued that Dutt took the tax-paying citizen for granted. Trupti Patel, an activist with Agni, pointed out that he had rarely taken any steps to safeguard public lands including Bandra, Khar, Santa Cruz and Vile Parle. “There are illegal structures coming up in Bandra and Khar which his party workers know about and are doing nothing to prevent. Local people are suffering. Just look at the pavements on Linking Road, there is no space to walk,” complained Edwin Britto, social activist from Khar.
According to attorney R. Haridas, secretary of the Santa Cruz Relief Road Housing Society Association, plots in this area that were initially designated for gardens and playgrounds had been marked for slum rehabilitation.
A few years prior, in 2021, Dutt presided over a protest of slum residents at the collector’s office in Bandra. The Northwest District Congress Committee arranged the march to demand that the state government’s pre-1995 slum protection policy extend to hutments on central government property, including the premises owned by the Indian airport authority (IAA).
The IAA wanted all huts surrounding the airport to be removed because they constituted a serious security danger. However, the party insisted on a suspension to the demolition until the authorities hand out photo passes to the eligible people staying in these slums. The interference reached to such a scale that a senior Congress leader felt compelled to urge that “politics should be put on the backburner where security considerations are involved.”
The AR Antulay government (June 1980-January 1982) earlier tried to get rid of Mumbai slums, irking the residents. The state was also challenged by NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations), including Nivara Hakk Suraksha Samiti (NHSS) headed by actress Shabana Azmi, aimed to postpone the cut-off date for these settlements. Therefore, Dutt was dubbed as an antidote to reclaim the lost votes by the party. Afterwards, he was credited as the deadline was moved to 1985.
The staunch Congressman had even persuaded his party president Sonia Gandhi to tell Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh to cease bulldozer action in Mumbai’s slums. He encouraged the date to be pushed back to 2000s from 1995, as vowed in the Congress election manifesto.
A slum near Bandra, Nargis Dutt Nagar, founded by Dutt in honour of his deceased wife and actress, was even asserted to be a hub for infiltrators and a ploy by politicians to create a vote bank, particularly in light of the 2014 assembly elections, which witnessed the victory of the BJP, according to The Times of India. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority owns the plot. It is leased to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) for auxiliary work related to flyover development.
“Migrants are pouring into the city almost daily. The truth of this slum is simple. Elections are near and the slum’s occupants will serve as a vote bank. 100% of the slum’s vote will be for politicians who shut their eyes to the building of illegal shanties,” voiced Anil Joseph, Perry Road Residents Association’s chairperson.
“In 1994, Nargis Dutt Nagar started with 40 shanties, which used to be demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) every now and then. But now the extent of this slum is unimaginable. It extends from the Bandra fire station right up to Rangsharda Hotel (near Lilavati Hospital),” he added.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray in 2015 attributed the city’s slum problem to Dutt, actress Shabana Azmi and late Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Baba Ziauddin Siddique.
“They were directly responsible for the mushrooming of several slums in Behrampada and Bharat Nagar. Majority of the migrants who come from Bangladesh may get involved in terrorist activities. What if that leads to something like serial bomb blasts like ones Mumbai has already experienced,” he questioned during a major rally.
Thackeray accused Congress leaders of fostering vote-bank strategies and commented that all of the shanties were being converted into pucca houses that would be hard to take down.
This discloses how illicit settlements have continuously been promoted by the grand old party leaders and its allies for political benefits, undermining the state’s progress. As a result, the implementation of even court order is being impeded by acts of violence, which stem from this excessive political endorsement of nefarious elements.
A similar story replicated in Dharavi
The present incident is similar to what has been observed in Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, for years concerning its redevelopment. Navbharat Mega Developers Private Limited (formerly Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited) is a joint venture between the Adani Group and Maharashtra government.
The project, which aims to transform this 2.4 square kilometre area into a modern township with residential, commercial and industrial facilities, faced constant protests from Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress, which also took out a “Dharavi Nyay Yatra” in the impoverished area in 2024.
Rahul Gandhi visited Dharavi in the lead-up to the last assembly elections in the state to claim that the redevelopment is a sham and the project is gifted to the businessman by Prime Minister Modi only for his advantage. He mocked “United we are safe (Ek hain to safe hain)” slogan of the saffron party, stressing that Dharavi is unsafe and being destroyed for the sake of one man.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad likewise levelled allegations of land-grabbing. However, it was discovered that land parcels won’t be given to the Adani Group but rather to the housing department of the state government via the Dharavi Redevelopment Project/Slum Rehabilitation Authority (DRP/SRA).
From bogus statements of favourtism and accusations of displacing people, the parties employed similar tactics to obstruct the crucial assignment. These leaders also demonstrated at Nagpur’s Vidhan Bhavan over the matter.
Conclusion
While the locations of projects might vary, Congress politics does not, as it interprets every issue not through the perspective of national interest, but the lens of votes and political gain. This is the reason for their furious resistance to the redevelopment of slums, which have not only devolved into problems for the country’s development but also infringe upon public property and become hotspots for illegal immigrants, especially in major urban areas like Mumbai.
These illicit territories that were formed and flourished under the earlier governments and parties need to be eradicated not just for the country’s progress but also to ensure its safety and security. Furthermore, the eligible people forced to spend their lives in such places also deserve to be offered the opportunity to experience better and superior conditions. Thus, the demolition must proceed without interruption, free from any political influence or fabricated narratives.
