Congress fumes, family protests as portion of Olympian Md Shahid’s house demolished

A section of the house belonging to late Olympian and Padma Shri awardee Mohammed Shahid in Varanasi was demolished on Sunday as part of a road-widening project, sparking protests from his family.

The demolition took place along the Kachery-Sandaha road, where authorities are carrying out infrastructure development works.

Shahid, who was a member of the Indian team that won gold in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, died in 2016 at 56.

According to local officials, only properties for which compensation had already been paid were targeted for demolition. However, Shahid’s relatives have disputed the claim. His sister-in-law Nazneen said the family had not received any compensation and had no alternative accommodation. “We have nowhere else to go with our family,” she stated.

Shahid’s cousin Mushtaq said the family is currently preparing for a wedding scheduled in October and claimed that they owned no other land. “If this continues, we will be forced onto the streets,” he said.

He further alleged inconsistencies in the project, stating that while road widening in other areas was limited to 21 metres, in their locality it had been extended to 25 metres.

Varanasi ADM (city) Alok Verma maintained that demolitions were being carried out only on compensated properties. “In the road widening project, action is being taken to remove only those properties for which compensation has already been paid. Sometimes, during bulldozer operations, slight deviations can occur, but no structure is being arbitrarily demolished,” he said.

Addressing the specific case of Shahid’s house, Verma noted that the building housed nine individuals, six of whom had received compensation.

The remaining three had obtained stay orders from the court, and those parts of the structure were left intact. “So far, 13 houses have been demolished as part of the drive,” he added.

He also mentioned that the family had asked for more time due to an upcoming wedding. In response, the administration had requested Aadhaar and bank details for processing compensation, but these documents were reportedly not submitted.

The incident has drawn sharp political responses. Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai criticised the move, saying: “The BJP government has demolished the house of Padma Shri Mohammed Shahid. This was not just a house, but a symbol of the nation's sporting legacy. The BJP government, which insults talent and respected figures on the land of Kashi, will not be forgiven by the people.”

Defending the move, BJP’s Mahanagar president Pradeep Agrahari said: “The road widening will benefit the entire population of Kashi. Opposition party members are making baseless statements about the road widening to mislead and provoke the public.”

He added that demolitions were only being carried out after compensation had been issued, and that similar drives were underway across the city.

With PTI inputs