New Delhi: A 15th Century palace has been razed in Delhi's Jal Vihar, apparently to make way for a palatial bungalow. Former Jal Board chief Udit Prakash Rai, whose family occupies it, has been handed a notice by the Vigilance Department of the Delhi government. He has been accused of facilitating the demolition, and allotting the bungalow to himself when it was built.
The monument was a palace from the Pathan period -- it is the only remnant of the Khizrabad city founded by Khizr Khan of the Sayyid dynasty. It was under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Jal Board.
A 2007 batch IAS officer, Udit Prakash Rai is currently posted in Mizoram. His family is living in the bungalow despite notices to vacate it. He has been given two weeks to respond to the Vigilance notice.
The monument was to be handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India by the Jal Board, but officials found it missing during a joint inspection in January, said the Vigilance Department's notice, issued on Wednesday.
The Archaeological Survey had asked for the handover of the palace in January 2021 but it did not happen. The Vigilance Department has claimed that Udit Prakash Rai had blocked the handover.
Locals told NDTV that there was a fort-like structure over a very large area. But now a bungalow has been built at the same place. Parts of the ruins were visible nearby.
A number of political parties, including the BJP and Trinamool Congress, have demanded action over the demolition of the monument. In a letter to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva demanded a high-level investigation.
"Only in India. Fifteenth-century monument demolished to construct govt officer's bungalow. Are the Archaeological Survey of India and Ministry of Culture napping yet again? Urging G Kishan Reddy (Union Minister For Culture and Tourism) to look at this," tweeted Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra.