Hyderabad’s Old City witnessed fresh tension on Sunday, April 5, 2026, when Hussaini Alam Police Inspector arrested Mohammed Sahil Akbar, the AIMIM Ghansi Bazar Division Incharge, from the demolition site. The arrest came a day after dramatic scenes unfolded when AIMIM leaders physically stopped GHMC’s encroachment removal drive in the area. Local residents have expressed anger over the action, and the atmosphere in Ghansi Bazar and surrounding localities remains charged.
The controversy began on Saturday, April 4, 2026, when GHMC launched an encroachment removal drive in sensitive Old City pockets including Murgi Chowk, Chowk Market, Madina Building, Madina Market, Patel Market, Clock Tower, and Pathergatti areas. Several old shops and structures, some claimed to be 80 to 100 years old, were targeted and partially demolished using JCB machines. The civic body’s action triggered immediate opposition from traders and local political leaders.
AIMIM leaders and workers strongly opposed the demolition drive, arguing it was targeting poor traders and decades-old establishments without proper notice. Party leaders maintained that many of the structures had been standing for generations and that shopkeepers were not given adequate time to respond or present their documents. The drive was described by party workers as arbitrary and insensitive to the livelihoods of small traders in the area.
In a dramatic intervention that was captured on video and went viral on social media, AIMIM MLC Mirza Rahmat Baig Qadri rushed to the spot along with other AIMIM Activists, Sahil Akbar, and other party activists and corporators. Rahmat Baig climbed onto the JCB machine, entered the operator’s cabin area, and ordered the driver to stop work and leave immediately. The demolition was halted at that location, and GHMC officials reportedly withdrew from the site.
Videos of Rahmat Baig confronting officials and stopping the JCB spread rapidly across social media platforms, triggering widespread debate on rule of law versus protection of local livelihoods. The footage showed the MLC physically preventing the demolition work, which critics described as obstruction of civic enforcement. Supporters, however, praised the intervention as a necessary step to protect poor traders from what they called an unjust action.
The situation took a fresh turn on Sunday when Hussaini Alam Police arrested Mohammed Sahil Akbar from the demolition site or nearby area. The arrest has further intensified tensions in the locality, with local residents and party workers gathering in the area. AIMIM leaders are expected to condemn the arrest as high-handed and politically motivated, maintaining that the party was only protecting long-standing shopkeepers from arbitrary demolition.
Many traders and residents in the area have expressed dissatisfaction with both the original demolition drive and the subsequent arrest. The local sentiment describes the atmosphere as tense, with concerns about further escalation. Opposition voices, mainly from BJP-aligned groups, have been sharing the earlier videos to accuse AIMIM of obstructing civic enforcement and creating no-go zones in the Old City. They argue that no political party should be allowed to physically prevent lawful municipal operations.
