In February 2021, a woman accused Shafiq Ansari, a 55-year-old former municipal councillor from Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, of raping her in his home. Shortly after, in March, the police filed an FIR against him. He spent three months in jail. A year later, in March 2022, the Sarangpur municipality demolished Ansari’s home.
His son’s education was derailed and Ansari suffered immense humiliation.
Four years later, on February 14, an additional sessions judge in Rajgarh noted that there were significant inconsistencies in the testimonies of the woman and her husband. He acquitted Ansari.
“I kept telling the police to investigate them, but they ignored me,” Ansari said in a phone interview. “This happened because of police negligence.”
Ansari said that his two-storeyed, 4,000 sq feet home was demolished without prior notice. Despite having no criminal record, he was included in Madhya Pradesh’s “anti-goon” campaign. “Early in the morning, four-five JCBs arrived and bulldozed my house,” Ansari said, recalling the events of March 13. He lived in the house with seven members of his family. “We weren’t even allowed to take our belongings,” he said. “After the demolition, even the rubble and iron from my house were taken away.”
“Now, the case is over, but my home is gone,” he said.
Ansari insisted that his home was built legally and that he had all the documents to prove it. But authorities never gave him a chance to present his records.
The case also disrupted the education of his son, 33-year-old Mohammad Ahsan. Ahsan and Ansari’s brother, Mohammad Iqbal, were booked for allegedly obstructing government work when in July 2021 they asked a police team that visited their home to show a search warrant. Ahsan had to put his studies on hold.
Ahsan had earned a Bachelor of Technology degree and had secured admission into an institute to pursue a master’s degree. As he waited to join the course, he took up a job with a logistics company. “If I had continued, I’d be a head manager by now,” he said.
Ahsan recalled the day he received a sudden call from home: a woman had accused his father of rape and an FIR had been filed. “From that point on, I spent most of my time in courts and police stations,” said Ahsan. “I couldn’t continue my studies or my job.”
Describing the demolition, Ahsan says that around 2 am on the night of March 13, 2022, he was woken from his sleep by a well-wisher informing him that officials would come in the morning to demolish their home.
“I didn’t believe it because we hadn’t received any official notice,” he said.
But by morning, the tip-off proved to be true. When officials arrived, he showed them property documents, but they insisted he lacked construction approvals. “I asked for time to provide those papers too, but they refused to listen,” Ahsan said. “Before my eyes, they demolished my home.”
Ansari had previously been a municipal councillor from Sarangpur Municipality, winning his first term in 1993. He had various stints in office, the last one ending in 2015. In 2022, after the rape case, his wife ran as an independent candidate and won by a big margin. This victory, said Ansari, proved that the public did not believe the accusations.
“Though my reputation was defamed, it didn’t really harm my public image,” said Ansari. He was associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party and the party was in power in Madhya Pradesh when his home was torn down.
When the Rajgarh Sessions Court delivered its verdict, Additional Sessions Judge Chitrendra Singh Solanki noted that the complainant had not reported the alleged assault immediately. The judgement also said forensic evidence did not support the accusation.
One key detail that came out in court was that the complainant’s house had also been demolished. The judge noted that Ansari had previously filed a complaint against her, which led to her home being demolished. The court suggested the rape allegation had likely been made in retaliation for that.
Ansari also believes that his identity played a role in what happened. “There were several reasons for my house being demolished and everything else, but I believe my being Muslim was a big factor,” he said.
Advocate Om Prakash Vijayvargiya, who defended Ansari, said that the accusations against Ahsan and Ansari’s brother Iqbal for obstructing government work were filed after the police entered their home without a search warrant.
“We told the court that the police had no search warrant when they arrived,” he said. “If something is happening at a house, it’s natural for people to try to stop the police from interfering.”
Now that he has been acquitted, Ansari said that he plans to seek compensation for the demolition of his home, arguing that justice has not yet been served.
Adnan Ali is a Delhi-based freelance multimedia journalist who covers human rights, minority issues and is passionate about politics.
