Roshpa Tower demolished. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Ranchi, June 7: The district administration today demolished some portions of Roshpa Tower as part of its anti-encroachment drive in the city.

The building is a part of a market complex owned by Roshan Surin, son of a senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Khunti constituency, Sushila Kerketta.

The anti-encroachment drive started around 1.15 in the afternoon and continued for almost an hour.

A demolition team of district administration officials, the RRDA and the police, led by deputy collector (land and reform) Kartik Ram and sub-divisional officer Deepankar Panda, carried out the drive.

The team first bulldozed a cafeteria that was constructed in front of the building on Main Road. It was allegedly illegal.

Then, the team demolished some under-construction shops on the second floor.

However, when the demolition team approached the second floor of the building, shopkeepers got agitated demanding prior notice for demolition. They claimed that the administration had no right to carry out a demolition drive without prior intimation.

Sushila Kerketta took strong exception to the step taken by the administration, saying it was the result of a political rivalry.

“I don’t want to gain political mileage. But we will take legal action,” she said.

Surin’s advocate Rakesh Agrawal said he would challenge the action of the district administration before the appropriate forum. “We were not served any notice before the drive,” he said.

According to sub-divisional officer Deepankar Panda, the action was taken on the direction of the RRDA officials.