‘Guilty will be punished,’ BJP MP Manoj Tiwari assures rat-hole miner whose house was razed

Manoj Tiwari, the Member of Parliament (MP) from Northeast Delhi, has assured “rat-hole” miner Vaqeel Hasan of prompt justice after his house was razed down by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on February 28.

“Whatever has happened is very sad. What has happened is injustice. The people who have done this are being investigated and those to blame will be punished…,” said the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader after visiting the site of demolition in Khajuri Khas and meeting Hasan on Saturday (Mar 2).

Tiwari also claimed before the media that steps were being taken to compensate the family and arrangements were being made to set up a new home. “I will not say much,” the MP said.

Hasan was previously awarded by Manoj Tiwari on December 23 after his team of rat-hole miners played a key role in rescuing workers in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand state.

What did the DDA say?

The DDA, meanwhile, said that the house was razed because it was illegal and unauthorised. It said it had offered multiple choices for accommodation to Hasan but he rejected all of them.

“He (Tiwari) told us something will be done within the next 24 to 48 hours,” Hasan was quoted as saying by Indian Express.

“Wakeel Hasan, ‘Rat Hole Miner’, whose illegal construction on government land had been demolished by DDA on 28.02.2024, has now even refused to take a two bedroom and a living room DDA MIG Flat in Dilshad Garden, close to his place of residence,” the DDA said in a press statement.

MP Tiwari had earlier said Hasan will be given house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).

Hasan’s statement to reporters

Earlier, while talking to reporters on Thursday (Feb 29), Hasan said he was being served a raw deal despite “doing such good work.”

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“I feel very bad... I don't understand why this is happening to me...we did such good work but in return, my own house has been razed. Where will I take my children...it is very difficult to earn a living, how will I buy a house?...the only option left for us is to die...I asked the people who came to demolish my house why are they doing it, but they did not say anything and did not show any papers...,” Wakeel Hasan was quoted as saying.

(With inputs from agencies)